I just returned from a Kohl’s store where I was picking up a gift card for our annual Christmas Eve gift card swap with my wife’s family. Instead of giving everyone presents and going to all that work, we simply each buy a gift card for $10 that we think others would like to receive, and then we do a white-elephant lottery where the second person to draw out of the bag gets to take away the gift card from the first person (or blindly draw out a new card out of the hat) and so on down the line. At the very end, the first person gets to choose to take any one of the gift cards. It is low cost, low conflict and an absolute blast. You can probably already tell that my wife came up with the idea, not me.

So I was standing at the cash register at Kohl’s and the clerk asked the woman in front of me (who was paying) to see her ID in addition to her credit card. The woman complained and the clerk explained that it was for her safety, not his. “That’s Inconvenient!”, she roared, and stormed out of the store.

Grumpy Holiday Lady, listen to me:

Huzzah! Tonight officially starts the holiday party season. It is my favorite time of year because I actually take a few weeks off of the professional speaking circuit to slow down to a normal pace. Over the coming weeks, all of the Whos in Whoville gather to celebrate the communities to which we all belong. Whether it is a neighborhood party, a work celebration or an association shindig (okay, I’m starting to use words that my parents use), it is a great time to honor our friendships, colleagues and causes.

Unfortunately, the abundance of the season attracts malcontents who try to take advantage of our happiness and busy-ness. I call this the Grinch Effect: stealing from others while they are lost in a brief moment of joy. Like the Grinch pilfering the last stocking from the fireplace, identity thieves use our distraction to pluck pieces of private data from our festive homes. Enough already! If you are hosting a holiday party (either at your  home or in your office), here are some tips on protecting your identity to foster holiday serenity:

It is the highest honor for me to be able to serve the United States military, who so valiantly and humbly serve every American. Just hours ago, I finished delivering an identity theft prevention speech to the soldiers and airmen of Ft. Lewis/McChord Military Installation in Tacoma, WA. Thanks to both bases, and to the Department of Defense for inviting me to speak with you.

During my speech, I promised to give you easy-to-complete action steps to protect your identity against theft, as well as that of your loved ones. I’d like to deliver on that promise by directing you to a full page article I’ve written specifically for you: The Military Identity Theft Protection Kit. If you have additional suggestions for protecting military IDs that I haven’t covered in this article, please include your comments at the bottom of the post. With your input, this conversation should contribute to the financial stability of our armed forces — Which is vital, because, as you are aware, financial readiness is mission readiness.

There were several questions that were asked after my speech was over that I wanted to address here:

1. Does freezing your credit affect your ability to make charges on your credit card? Absolutely not! It only affects new accounts being set up (car loans, home loans, etc.) using your credit profile. It will not affect any existing accounts that you have. You will still be able to make purchases on your credit or debit card without any additional hassle.

As the economy continues to decline, people are finding creative ways to increase how much they make. Unfortunately, dishonest people often turn to dishonest means, such as identity theft, to increase their net worth.

It seems that home equity lines of credit (HELOCs) are the latest in a series of financial devices that identity thieves are using to undermine your net worth. As Jay MacDonald of Bankrate.com points out in a CNBC article:

…now that the door to subprime lending has slammed shut, thieves have set their sights on those with good credit and substantial equity in their homes — deep pools of cash that can be easily tapped via a HELOC.

Sharks in deep pools
The FBI says HELOC thieves typically use stolen identification to apply online for a line of credit in your name. Then they instruct the bank to wire the funds to their accounts, providing their own contact information in place of yours. That way, the bank unwittingly contacts the thief to verify the electronic funds transfer.

To learn more, read the entire article: ID Thieves Tap Home Equity Lines.

John Sileo
Financial Keynote Speaker