Identity Theft Protection

Asheville, North Carolina attorney, Paul L. Erickson, CPA/Esq., P.O. Box 455, Skyland, NC 28776, (828) 214-1111 in addition to opening a tax return preparation and accounting office, has also begun an employee benefits business. Erickson's employee benefits company is designed to help the multitude of businesses, many of which have no idea they are subject to the all encompassing and newly enacted Identity Theft regulations (such as the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACTA) and its Red Flag Rules (effective November 1, 2008); Fair Credit Reporting Act; Gramm, Leach, Bliley Safeguard Rules; and Individual State Laws) to implement appropriate policies, procedures and safeguards to comply with the various laws, rules and regulations as well as provide their employees with a low cost means of resolving Identity Theft issues when they or a member of their family become a victim of Identity Theft.

The public, because of ubiquitous television ads, believes identity theft is a joke. It is a woman talking with a man's voice, a banjo playing waiter, a victimless crime with zero liability. Nothing could be further from the truth. What it is in fact, is an insidious crime that is exploding, that costs businesses today in excess of 50 Billion Dollars per year, results in the permanent corruption of its victims files in many cases, ruining their lives in extreme cases and causing potentially the largest liability for businesses and governmental bodies since asbestos and tobacco litigation. Identity Theft affects over 9 million people each year in the United States alone.

There are an almost infinite number of ways for a thief to steal your identity. Everything starts with the thief's ability to get access to certain key pieces of information that belong to you. The thief is looking for information to commit one or more of the 5 Main Types of Identity Theft:

1. Driver License: Thief gets a traffic ticket in a victim's name; thief may or may not pay the fine Thief uses information to attain instant credit in victim's name • Points may be added to victim's driving record, resulting in increased auto insurance, cancelled auto insurance, or driver license suspension • Warrant may be issued to victim, thereby resulting in arrest
2. SSN/Employment: Thieves use victim's SSN to gain employment or to report income under victim's name • Thieves take the income, don't pay the taxes, leaving victim with the bill • Wanted criminals or illegal immigrants use victim's SSN Identity so they can get employment without being found or to gain employment • Thieves and Criminals use victim's SSN for employment, medical, financial, criminal, school, and other purposes
3. Medical: Thief gets medical care or prescription drugs in a victim's name • Victim may get the medical bill OR not be able to get their own prescriptions filled • Insurance, employment or treatment may be denied, because the thief's diabetes, hepatitis, AIDS, etc, is now part of the victim's MID file • Because of corrupted medical history, victim may receive the wrong prescription or medical treatment
4. Criminal: Thieves mask their criminal activity behind victim's identity • Victim may get arrested; resulting in a criminal record • Employment or pensions due may be denied because of fraudulent criminal records found during routine background checks • Security checkpoints at airports could become a nightmare • Passport could be denied and victim can be barred from leaving the country
5. Financial: Thief gains access to existing accounts or opens new accounts in a victim's name • Accounts may be overdrawn or debts incurred (credit cards, loans, utilities) • Delinquent accounts or judgments filed in victim's name for unpaid debts • Credit scores are lowered for victim, resulting in higher interest rates and insurance premiums

Clients needing these protections can purchase the Identity Theft Shield and Pre-Paid Legal family memberships at Paul Erickson's web site www.prepaidlegal.com/go/paulerickson. All of that can be purchased for under $27/month.

Mr. Erickson's benefits team will assist businesses to: • Appoint, in writing, an Information Security Officer to oversee the protection, and privacy of Non-Public Information and Personally Identifiable Information and in some cases protect it from Identity Theft related misuse. • Develop an appropriate written plan and policy to protect non-public information and Personally Identifiable Information of employees and customers. • Hold training for employees – to effectively implement any plan employees have to know about the plan and the laws. • Oversee service provider arrangements – businesses' liability is their information that follows them and with those organizations that they share information with. .
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