Book Review: '50 Ways to Protect Your Identity and Your Credit' by Steve Weisman

50 Ways To Protect Your Identity and Your Credit: Everything You Need to Know About Identify Theft, Credit Cards, Credit Repair, and Credit Reports. Steve Weisman. New York: Prentice Hall. 2005. 232 pages, including index. ISBN 013146759X. Available from Amazon.com for $13.57.

There's an old saying, meant to be humorous: "Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they're not out to get you." This statement is actually true, when it comes to identity theft. Identify theft is the fastest growing crime in the United States, and ruins thousands of lives each year.

That's not an overstatement. It's possible to recover from a one-time theft of money, or belongings, (as long as it hasn't been accompanied by violence, of course). But with identity theft, lives are turned upside down forever. The money keeps disappearing, more than its victims would ever think possible, and the reputation of the unfortunates are destroyed. What makes it worse, if possible, is that if these white collar criminals *are* captured, their punishment hardly ever fits the viciousness and pitilessness of their crimes, and they rarely are forced to make restitution to their victims.�

It is much better to be proactive - to ensure that you keep your identity, and your credit, safe.�

Richard Weisman's book will help you do this.�

It's written in clear, easy-to-understand language, for all education levels. The table of contents page lists every eventuality that the reader would need to deal with. Weisman also provides real-life 'horror-stories', examples of identity criminals and victims.

Some examples from the table of contents:
> Identity theft: phishing and scams
> Making yourself less vulnerable: scams, cell phone cameras, ATMs, mailboxes
> Danger on the computer, and what to do if you are a victim of identity theft
> Your social security number - an identity thief's lucky number
> Criminal identity theft, taxes,-and more arresting problems
> Technology, business and government fight identity theft - biometrics, privacy concerns, technology such as voice recognition, retinal scans and fingerprints
> Financial privacy please - the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act

Weisman then moves on to examine another problem that is growing today - the misuse of credit cards. Easy money is so seductive for the young people who have yet to get out into the job world, and don't realize how easy it is to spend money that you do not have, only to spend the rest of your life paying for it.

Weisman covers everything from the history of credit cards to your credit reports to preventing credit discrimination.

He ends the book with:
> 27 Identity Theft Protection Rules - with suggestions ranging from using a locked mailbox at your home to avoiding privately owned ATMs.
> 13 Rules to Follow if You Are the Victim of Identity Theft - everyone you should notify if the worst should happen
> 8 Credit Counseling Rules
> 9 Credit Reporting and Credit Scoring Rules - ending with the most important one of all: Reduce your debt!

He also provides form letters to use if needed: for letting businesses know you're the victim of identity theft to disputing information on credit reports to letters on how to cancel credit cards. (Yes, you can have too many.)�

Everyone needs to read this book, and apply its principles.