US Postal Service Identity Theft Notification Letter

Yesterday, I got a call from Russ Powell, one of my ISAs in North Carolina, asking if I had gotten the same mailing about Identity Theft from the Postmaster General that he had. I hadn't. But today it came, so I presume everyone in the country who gets mail got the letter. Therefore, I won't describe it in detail -but I can't resist commenting that:

1. I don't often get something so important that the Postal Service incurs the expense of sending out tens of millions of letters. Sure, they get free postage, but do you know how expensive it is to prepare, print, and deliver even one million of these letters? Identity Theft is a HUGE problem for government and citizens at all levels - and this mailing proves it.
2. The advice they give about how to "Deter, Detect, and Defend" is good, but just highlights how helpless we really are as individuals to prevent identity theft. Of the 5 common ways Identity Theft happens, only one (Phishing) can be considered completely within the control of an individual - by simply not falling for any of the many ruses out there. The other 4 (Dumpster Diving, Skimming (capturing data directly from your card at say a restaurant), Changing Your Address, and "Old Fashioned" Stealing) can't be easily prevented. A determined thief will make you a victim if you or your data happens to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

In my opinion, Identity Theft protection and a good recovery plan that includes the availability of full support is no longer a luxury for the wealthy - it's a necessity for everyone: even children, who are often prime targets because their Social Security Numbers aren't yet being used for much.

In the past, I've used Prepaid Legal's Identity Shield (pretty good) and AIG's Identity Theft Insurance (pretty good), and looked into LifeLock (DON'T FALL FOR THEIR FANCY MARKETING!), but my identity theft protection of choice is iDefend from INVISUS Direct. Why? Because they offer the best proactive identity theft prevention and the most aggressive identity theft recovery if, God forbid, the unthinkable should happen.