2012 - The Year of the Breach

A recent study conducted by the National Cyber Security Alliance (NCSA) and McAfee Inc. revealed that 400,000 Yahoo! accounts and 6.5 million LinkedIn passwords and millions more at other major sites suffered Identity Theft breaches in the first half of 2012. 

Too many people believe that unless they have credit cards, they do not need ID Theft Protection.  More than 25% of Americans received alerts advising them that their personal information was lost, stolen or compromised.  These breaches included online passwords, email addresses, credit card numbers and more.  And, since many ID thefts are never reported, it is likely that far more actually suffered a breach.

There are numerous companies now offering identity theft protection products, and all of them provide a measure of security.  Xpress Healthcare offers LifeLock® ID Theft Protection.  Everyone who has ever seen a LifeLock commercial on TV knows that they are the biggest and the best proactive program available. 

With Xpress Healthcare, we actually offer LifeLock® at only $19.95/month/family. That’s right, per family!  You’ll pay more at LifeLock’s® own website!  To make this offer even more inviting, this ID Theft Protection is offered as only one of several benefits included in this particular plan.  At the same price, in addition to LifeLock, members receive discounts on pet care products and services, roadside assistance, legal services and cash back rewards mall. 

Whether you purchase your ID Theft Protection through Xpress or not, do not wait!  Get yourself protected before you become a victim!

Meanwhile, here are some steps you can take to avoid becoming an identity theft victim.

Change online passwords regularly.  The above-referenced study found that 28% of people never change their online bank account passwords. This is a major mistake.  Do not make your passwords your birthday or anniversary or other dates or words that are easy to figure out.  Mix lower case and upper case letters, and use numbers in your password.  Longer passwords are easier to hack than short ones.

Keep a close eye on your computer.  About ¼ of Americans store sensitive information on their computers.  Whether laptop or desktop, this is not a good idea.

Only access private sites while connected to a secure wireless network. The chances of someone hacking into your personal online accounts are reduced if you only access private sites when you are connected to a secure wireless network.

Be sure you have security software on your smartphone. With so many of us accessing the Internet using our smartphones, the NCSA study found that 64% have never protected their mobile devices from viruses. The bottom line is that whether or not you have credit cards, you should have identity theft protection. PERIOD.  And I highly recommend that you get the program everyone knows, LifeLock®, through Xpress Healthcare to protect yourself at the lowest cost. To learn more about LifeLock, visit http://julie.joinxpress.com/lifestyle-select.html