Identity Theft is on the Rise!

15 million people a year have their identity stolen, will you be next?

It only took a couple minutes for my friend Jimmy’s  life to be flipped upside down. While attending a wedding for a friend, he left his wallet in his car. When the wedding ended, he went to his car and noticed that his wallet was missing. After looking around for a while, he decided to call the police and report that it was stolen. After a couple of days he received a call from the police department that his wallet was found and that he could pick it up. When he got there everything in his wallet was still pretty much in tack except for one credit card and the money that was inside. He thought he was pretty lucky because it was just a couple of dollars and a credit card that he then canceled immediately. A couple of months with by with notice. Life moved on and he soon forgot about that day.

And then it happened. His luck went south. He got a phone call from the company of the canceled credit card. They wanted their money. And it was a lot of money. He told them that he didn’t have the money, that he canceled that credit card and that he never received any notification that he owed money. The company still wanted their money. They had no record of the card being canceled and they said that bills were being sent.

Jim started to think to himself, “How in the world did someone reactivate my canceled credit card? What am I going to do?” He had no idea how this question would soon affect his life. He received hundreds of phone calls. Spent thousands of dollars. Loans were being taken out in his name. His license would get suspended due to violations that he never committed. He had to file bankruptcy, more than once. It got so bad that the social security office issued him not 1 but 2 new social security numbers! To this day he suffers. He has a family of seven and can’t even purchase a home or a new car because no bank will give him a loan. 

These events ruined his life.

What if that was you?

Identity theft can have a devastating impact on victims - robbing them of their money, time, and reputation. Did you know that your home-owners insurance policy can cover the expense that incurs when your identity is stolen? All you have to do is add an Identity Theft endorsement.

With most companies, you can add this for less than $10 a year!

With the endorsement, most policies will then provide coverage up to $15,000 for expenses that incur due to an identity theft. These expense include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Loan reapplication fees
• lost earnings as a result of time-off work
• Reasonable attorney fees
• Bond premiums
• Notary fees, and other out-of-pocket expenses

This coverage can also provide you with unlimited access to a highly experienced fraud specialist whenever you have an identity-related concern or problem - without having to file a reimbursement claim.