The Wall Street Journal. Complete Identity Theft Guidebook: How to Protect Yourself from the Most Pervasive Crime in America (Wall Street Journal Identity Theft Guidebook: How to Protect) [Paperback]

Terri Cullen (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 10, 2007 | Series: Wall Street Journal Identity Theft Guidebook: How to Protect

It could happen when you make a routine withdrawal from an ATM, respond to an e-mail asking for information about an online account, or leave a new box of checks unattended in your mailbox. Identity theft is one of the easiest crimes to commit in America—and one of the hardest to prosecute. As thieves become increasingly clever, Americans have more reasons than ever to fear this elusive, ubiquitous crime. Now there’s a book to help you beat it.

In two easy-to-understand sections, Terri Cullen, The Wall Street Journal’s expert on identity theft, first walks you through the most common types of identity theft and how to arm yourself against them, and then leads victims step-by-step through the process of reclaiming a stolen identity. The average victim loses more than $6,000 and spends approximately 600 hours negotiating the complex bureaucracies and paperwork—this book will help save time and effort by laying out the process. And by following the advice in the first half, you may never need the second!

You’ll learn:
• how to avoid the most common scams, from “phishing” to “dumpster diving”
• why children under eighteen are the fastest-growing target, and how you can protect your family
• why your credit report is the single most important document for protecting your identity
• how to use the sample letters, forms, and other useful tools inside for recovering from identity theft

In today’s marketplace, your two most valuable assets are your credit and your identity. No one should be without this vital guide to protecting them.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Identity theft is one of the fastest-growing crime segments worldwide, yet the laws in place to prosecute these offenses are scant and rarely enforced. Cullen, assistant managing editor and personal finance columnist for the Wall Street Journal Online, explains that there are really two broad variations of identity-related crime: identity theft, which is impersonation of someone else to get a job or hide one's own criminal record; and identity fraud, the use of another person's credentials for monetary theft. Getting someone else's personal information is surprisingly easy, but Cullen shows in part 1 how, through simple diligence such as shredding documents and protecting yourself online, you can avoid having to follow the directions in part 2, where she explains how to clear your name should you become a victim. The average identity-theft victim will have to spend 600 hours clearing his or her good name. This is a straightforward guide broken up with interesting sidebars and plenty of charts, in the Wall Street Journal tradition. Siegfried, David

About the Author

TERRI CULLEN is an assistant managing editor and award-winning personal-finance columnist for The Wall Street Journal Online. She lives in New Jersey with her husband and son.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Three Rivers Press (July 10, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0307338533
• ISBN-13: 978-0307338532
• Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 0.7 x 9.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #252,595 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

39 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars THE Best Identity Theft Book Available, August 13, 2007

By 

O. Brown "Ms. O. Khannah-Brown" (Twopeas, WA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Wall Street Journal. Complete Identity Theft Guidebook: How to Protect Yourself from the Most Pervasive Crime in America (Wall Street Journal Identity Theft Guidebook: How to Protect) (Paperback)

*****
I have read several identity theft books, and this book from the Wall Street Journal is by far the best. For starters, it is short, containing JUST the information you need to know. The first half of the book is about how to prevent identity theft. The second half of the book is about how to recover from identity theft. It is so helpful for me to have everything I need to know collected succinctly all in one place.

The book covers things you can do to prevent identity theft and exactly how the latest scams are perpetrated so that you can be aware (including utility theft, employment identity theft, medical identity theft, and home equity theft). It covers understanding your credit report, including credit monitoring tools and other credit tools (including the differences between a credit alert and a credit freeze, something I had been confused about); the book identifies your credit report as the single most important document for protecting your identity. There are many examples of credit reports and how to interpret them. There is also information about identity theft and technology, made understandable for pretty much anyone.

The second half of the book includes resources for identity theft recovery---numbers to call, sample letters, sample logs, laws, and more. Hopefully, by reading and implementing the first half of the book you will never need the second half of the book. Nothing is ever totally foolproof against identity theft, of course, but there are so many basic things you can do to minimize your risk of becoming a victim.

Despite including all of this information, the book can be read by anyone in 4-5 hours. In my opinion, this is information everyone should be aware of. Law enforcement is overburdened and cannot be relied upon to protection; each person has to take personal responsibility to protect themselves, and this book is all you need to do so. You'll have work to do after reading the book, of course, but it will be worth it. Save you money, and if you want to just buy one book, make it this one.

Highly recommended.
*****

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Valuable resource, September 6, 2007

By 

Judith G. Bronsonstem Svcs "Judith Gunn Brons... (Bandera, TX) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Wall Street Journal. Complete Identity Theft Guidebook: How to Protect Yourself from the Most Pervasive Crime in America (Wall Street Journal Identity Theft Guidebook: How to Protect) (Paperback)

A thorough, easy-to-read depiction of how identities are stolen, how you can protect yourself, and what to do if your efforts fail. Significantly, the book points out that identity theft often is an inside job; i.e., it isn't a hacker in Russia, it is one of your nearest and dearest (?).

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent, June 4, 2008

By 

MAH - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Wall Street Journal. Complete Identity Theft Guidebook: How to Protect Yourself from the Most Pervasive Crime in America (Wall Street Journal Identity Theft Guidebook: How to Protect) (Paperback)

Excellent identity theft book. Although not a technical book, it gives the basic facts on threats and makes recommendations that should significantly reduce the incidence of identity thefts and the impact of an identify theft, if one occurs.