Thursday, July 06, 2006

Stolen Lives: Identity Theft Prevention Made Simple Author: By John D. Sileo Publisher: Da Vinci Publications ASIN: 0977059774

About This Book

Identity theft is the fastest growing crime in America, affecting 10 million Americans every year. Stolen Lives is a privacy wakeup call, with how-to methods to protect your greatest financial asset - your identity. Prevention is not difficult, but it takes organization and discipline. Stolen Lives helps you with an easy-to-implement program to protect your wallet, trash, computer, financial assets and personal information as a part of your everyday habits.

John D. Sileo, the author, wrote this book in response to his own ID theft case, during which he was charged with four felonies and $300,000 of crimes he didn't commit:

Two years ago I opened my door early one morning to find a government agent perched on my doorstep. “Mr. Sileo?” he asked, in this Tony Soprano accent. “My name is special agent Robisi from the economic crimes unit and you are being investigated for the theft of $300,000. Don’t bother making excuses. You have a right to know the criminal nature of the charges filed against you and to seek the consul of an attorney.” Those words were the beginning of a two-year battle to try to keep myself out of jail.

You see, my identity had been stolen by a friend, by someone who knew my habits and vulnerabilities. 50% of identity theft is committed by someone the victim knows. My good and trusted friend set up a credit card in my name and laundered $300,000 in additional crimes over the course of 16 months. He paid the card off by stealing other people’s bank account numbers… people who believed that the problem couldn't possibly affect them. He made other people, people like you, think that I had stolen from them instead of him. I was his cover, his fall-guy, his bait. I was the one who was accused of the crimes. I was the one that had to hire the lawyer to defend my innocence.

If you become an ID theft victim, it could cost you hundreds of hours and thousands of dollars. By reading this book, you can learn to:

• Use common sense and the privacy habits of spies to detect scams and thieves before they bite.
• Protect your trash, mail, computer, wallet, home & more.
• Prioritize prevention tasks for you so that you make changes that have the most impact.