Some things are irrational to fear, such as monsters under the bed or your inlaws coming for a visit. But some things that we fear are perfectly reasonable, like the Internal Revenue Service and identity thieves. In fact, a study taken by Unisys, an information technology consulting service, asserts that more Americans fear having their information stolen online than getting mugged or robbed in person.
Perhaps the reason for this is twofold. First of all, when you submit your information online you like to think that it is safe. Knowing that someone can hack in and find it can make a person feel vulnerable. The second big problem with this type of identity theft is that it can occur without your knowing about it. At least if someone steals your wallet you know that you need to cancel all the credit cards it contains. In the case of online identity theft, you may not even know that a criminal has your accessed your information for months, or even years, after they get their hands on it.
Another study taken in February says that right now only about 25% of identity theft is conducted online, but identity theft is continually growing due to the still prominent recession and the high unemployment rate.
More interesting information coming out of the October survey is that:
*Americans between the ages of 35 and 65 are the most concerned about the security of e-commerce, which is reasonable considering this group has the most disposable income and assets.
*Over 50% of Americans are willing to use biometrics, such as retinal scans and fingerprint scans, to identify themselves.
*Approximately 65% of Americans are “extremely concerned†or “very concerned†about identity theft.
You would think that this number would be higher considering that over 10 million Americans were victimized by identity thieves last year. Perhaps the other 35% have identity theft protection plans in place. These plans are designed not only to protect your personal information but to preserve your peace of mind.
It’s easy to feel safe when you know you are protected, and your credit will remain intact. And it’s good to know that many plans have insurance policies in place just in case something does happen. You can find out more about the plans that are available directly through this website and even sign up for some of them at a discounted rate.
It’s important to discuss your identity theft protection plan options with your family before you choose one. That’s because some are individual plans and some will protect all of your immediate family members for one low price.
While fear is healthy in some situations, feeling secure is almost always preferable. An identity theft protection plan can make this possible. Unfortunately there’s not much that can be done about the Internal Revenue Service.