Everything we do is a cost benefit analysis. Before we do anything, we look at what we have to give up, in relation to the value of what we expect to get in return. We won’t even get out of bed in the morning until we have done the math. We rate the cost (get out of the warm bed) versus value (mmm, breakfast burrito). Once we weigh the two, we decide whether to “risk it”, and then get to work, or do nothing.

Problem is, human beings are very poor at rating the value of anything. We have a difficult time deciding what is a reasonable amount to pay/work for something, because we are extremely poor estimators of the actual value of anything. We spend billions on lottery tickets, will pay twice as much if shoes have a particular logo scribbled across them, will drive 30 miles to save 100 dollars on a TV, but will not leave a dealership for the one two miles down the street if it does not offer greater than a $2,000 savings on our auto loan.

So what does this have to do with your personal identity and identity theft protection?

Two questions:

• Do I truly recognize the true value of keeping my identity safe?
• And what is a reasonable price to keep that identity safe?

We already know there is high risk for identity theft. Identity theft is on the news almost every day. Odds are that most of us have some idea of the pain caused by identity theft, either through our own experience, or through the experience of someone we know. This risk gets greater every day. Every person on earth should be making efforts to protect themselves, but still some millions don’t do anything about it.

Why not? Perhaps in their eyes, the perceived likelihood of identity theft, and the possible pain of losing their Identity still doesn’t warrant the effort and cost of enlisting identity theft protection? LifeLock is the industry leader in identity theft protection, and offers its service for less than $10 a month. A pair of Double Chai Latte’s cost more! Yet some still refrain from enlisting identity theft protection services. This leads me to believe that some people have not truly understood the value of their identity. They do not recognize the value of not only not losing your identity, but also keeping your Identity.

So you may ask yourself, what is the value to me of keeping my identity secure? Let’s put it in terms of cash value. Imagine a handsome, yet slightly mysterious stranger came to you on the street and said, “I cannot tell you why, but I need your Social Security Number, current address, and first and last name. I am ready to hand you cash today. How much will you require?”
So, how much money would it take for you to give him your personal information? Knowing you will have to make every effort as soon as you get home (and for the rest of your life) to make sure that information cannot be used to affect you personally? Did you demand $100? $30,000? A million?

Now look at situations in the past where you did just that. You gave your personal information to a stranger. Maybe he wasn’t as handsome as the gentleman in our example, but the scenario was very close. You gave your personal information to a stranger the last time you bought a car (a $25,000 purchase?). But you would feel highly concerned if personal information was required in order to buy shoes ($100)? What is the threshold at which it would be “reasonable” to give them your personal information?

The cash value in each scenario may give you a clue of what the cash value of your identity is to you. Is the amount required in the car salesman scenario even close to the amount you would have required from the handsome stranger?

Now that you have a better idea of the cash value of a secure identity to you, what would be a reasonable amount to invest to keep it?
May I offer a suggestion?

LifeLock is the industry leader in identity theft protection, and offers its service for less than $10 a month. Our job is to protect your good name. As a consumer, you have rights that allow you to take more control over who uses your identity and how they use it. We do the mechanics, the details if you will, to enforce those rights. And we stand behind our service with our $1,000,000 total service guarantee.

We don’t think you will see a guarantee like this anywhere else from any other company. If you do, let us know because we’d like to do business with them. If you have a reason to think that you will become a victim of identity theft, we can help you stop looking over your shoulder, because we’ve got your back. We understand the investment on your part is twofold: trusting us with your personal information to allow us to protect you, and $10 a month.

Its tax time again. I made my normal trip to my tax appointment office to process my paperwork. Thoughts of what I was going to buy with my refund were running through my head. After an hour with the tax advisor my taxes were completed and e-filed. I paid a little bit extra to have my refund within 1-2 days by getting an anticipation loan from a bank. After 24 hours I got a call from my accountant to tell me that the anticipation loan was denied and that I would receive my check within 8 – 15 days. I figured that was fine and that I could wait that long. Well, 18 days went by with no check. After calling my accountant every day for 10 days, I was getting very frustrated. No one could tell me why I didn’t have my refund check yet. I was ready to go to the office and throw a fit. On the 19th day I received a call from the accountant’s headquarters asking that I contact the bank in regards to my tax refund check.

I made the call and low and behold….. I have fraud alerts on my credit report and they needed to take additional steps to verify my identity, prior to allowing the anticipation loan to be processed. DUH! I work for LifeLock and I’m a LifeLock member, why hadn’t I thought of that. It had slipped my mind that the refund coming within 8 - 15 days was still going to be a loan. I’m glad to know that no one else would have been able to get an anticipation loan using my information without my permission. Fortunately my story had a happy ending and I received my refund.

I’ve got a scary number for you: Security experts estimate that as many as ten million personal computers are infected with viruses designed to steal your personal information.

If that doesn’t make your hair stand on end, then listen to this: Panda Security found that at least one percent of the 67 million people who utilized their free ActiveScan to test their computers last year were infected with malicious Trojan software programs. That’s 670,000 computers. They estimate that if 1 percent of the computers in homes across the world actually downloaded malware without knowledge of it, it’s safe to estimate then that over ten million computers worldwide could potentially be infected with software capable of stealing its contents—and along with that, personal identities.

The scary numbers just keep coming. According to Panda, their detection rate rose to over 800 percent between the middle of 2008 and the end of the year. Victims are usually infected after being duped into downloading virus programs through fake websites or pop-ups.

Malicious programs such as key logger spyware can go undetected for quite a period of time, whether or not the latest antivirus updates are installed. And once these destructive programs are downloaded onto a computer, every keystroke made—including credit card numbers entered, Social Security numbers typed, banking information and passwords input—are then in the hands of the bad guys. Thieves have become technologically savvy. In fact, Panda reported that more than a third of the PCs they found to be infected had fully-functional and recently-updated anti-virus programs installed.

Here are some of the highlights from Panda’s study on the evolution of online identity theft:

• Over three million of the audited users in the U.S. and more than 10 million users worldwide were infected with active identity theft-based malware in 2008
• 1.07 percent of all PCs scanned in 2008 were infected with active malware (resident in memory during the scan) related to identity theft, such as banker Trojans
• 35 percent of the infected PCs had up-to-date antivirus software installed
• The number of PCs infected with identify theft malware increased by 800 percent from the first half of 2008 to the second half

A few tips to help protect your computer and your identity;

• 1. If you are using a shared computer, always delete any personal information and passwords you may have entered.
• 2. Never click on pop-ups or embedded links contained in email from an unknown source, even if it says, “You have been sent a postcard from your friend!” These are most likely fronts for “phishing” scams. DON’T CLICK.
• 3. Use care when picking passwords. Don’t use passwords containing public information that a trained identity thief can easily crack. Hint: your birth date, the name of your pet, and your mother’s maiden name are not as secret as you think.

I have one last number for you: The Federal Trade Commission estimates that over nine million consumers have had their identities stolen in the United States alone. Remember, the best way to prevent an identity theft is to plan for one. If your wallet is stolen, “who ya gonna call”? I know I’m going to call LifeLock, and leave the clean-up to them!

During the past two weeks I have spoken with a number of victims of identity theft and credit card fraud (skimming). In each conversation we discussed how the victim was targeted and where their information was compromised. One victim was unsure where the point of compromise occurred, the second victim was targeted through skimming, and the third believes the information was from the Human Resource Department of an employer. In order to create the best possible chance to identify the perpetrators of this type of criminal activity it is extremely important to determine the original point of compromise where your information was stolen or obtained.

This element of the case not only provides specific clues to who the perpetrator is but also can be utilized to identify other possible victims which in turn can lead law enforcement to other locations where the information may have been utilized to gain credit in the victim’s name. For that matter it is extremely important to closely monitor your expenditures and credit card statements so that you can immediately recognize unauthorized activity on your account. The quicker a victim realizes they have been targeted the faster law enforcement can begin to identify the potential point of compromise.

The Scam

Caller: “Hi, I’m Carl from the Department of Economic Security. I’m calling to verify employment for Judy Smith.”
HR: “I’m sorry, I cannot provide any information to you without a signed release.”
Caller: “Well, Judy Smith is waiting for benefits from DES. I just need you to verify she works there.”
HR: “It is against our policy to provide any information without a signed release from the employee.”
Caller: “You’re just making it difficult for Judy Smith to claim benefits.”
HR: “We’re happy to help any way possible, once we receive the signed release. Here’s our fax number: 222.555.1111.”

The Reality

Judy Smith has a restraining order taken out against an ex-boyfriend as a result of his arrest for assault. The caller was the ex-boyfriend looking for information on how to find Judy.

Protecting Identities and Privacy

Human Resources, as the keeper of private employee information, receives a multitude of requests each week from a number of outside agencies and sources seeking information about employees. These requests come from state and Federal agencies, mortgage lenders, and other organizations.

Most of these requests for information are absolutely legitimate and organizations seeking this type of information are now used to HR departments requiring signed employee authorizations before the release of any information. Willingly they comply and fax over signed employee authorizations.

However, criminals and individuals with malice in mind contact HR departments, too, seeking private and confidential information. HR professionals have heard these people say, “I just need you to tell me they work there for my files to be complete.” Or “Can you verify what location where the employee works?” or even “They’re waiting to close on a house and you will mess this up for them if you don’t tell me over the phone.”

Rest assured that LifeLock’s HR department has implemented best practices to protect employee information and their privacy. LifeLock will only release information if an employee has signed an authorization to do so or LifeLock is required by a court order or subpoena to provide such information. Some steps you, your friends and family can take to assist HR departments in protecting your identity and privacy are to contact the HR department when:

• If you have filed a Restraining Order, contact your HR department immediately so steps can be taken to protect you while at work.
• You have applied for a mortgage or loan and you are expecting your lender to contact your employer for a verification of employment.
• You’ve applied for assistance through a state or non-profit agency that will verify your employment or hours worked.
• You suspect someone is trying to find out about your personal or professional life.