Identity Theft Crisis Averted December 29, 2008

I’m sure we all know someone who’s been a victim of identity theft, but it would never happen to us, right?  One of the craziest stories I’ve heard is the woman who got a bill for a $40,000 foot amputation who still had both feet intact.  According to Readers Digest, with the rising cost of medical insurance, medical identity theft is a hot commodity.  So far, one third of the US population has been affected by identity theft.  This month, it happened to me.

We received a call one Sunday morning recently saying there has been a series of charges from iTunes on our American Express for the last several months, totally nearly $300!  I was wondering how the balance on a card I never used crept up so high…  Since I had changed over to paperless billing (bad idea), I never caught it.  I disputed the charges and since it was within the 90 day grace period, the money will be reimbursed on my next statement.  Phew!

Thankfully, I felt a lot better knowing that we have incredible identity theft restoration services through Pre-Paid Legal Services and Kroll.  Through the Identity Theft Shield, if our identity is ever compromised, instead of fixing it yourself, they take the wheel and put our identity back together again.  If this issue with iTunes hadn’t been solved so easily, this would have been our next offense.

So be wise!  In order to avoid becoming a victim of identity theft, be sure to keep an eye on your statements, shred and avoid purchasing online from unfamiliar websites.  Since our information is in many databases (school records, past jobs, government agencies) that can’t be avoided, it is smart to research and invest in identity theft restoration services to have the professionals watch your back, too.  Spread the word!

On a lighter note…  In the words of Dwight K. Shrute, identity theft is no laughing matter.  Except sometimes.

Thanks, Tina!

Oklahoma City Convention 2008 March 18, 2008

Tuesday, some friends and I hit the road and drove from Park City across Wyoming, Colorado, Kansas to Oklahoma for the annual Pre-Paid Legal Oklahoma City Convention 2008. What a weekend! We were mentored by an Attorney General, State Senator, Insurance Commissioner, the Governor of Oklahoma, Robert and Kim Kiyosaki, and countless millionaires. How was your weekend?

Another guest speaker at the Oklahoma City Convention was Michael McCoy, author of the book, “What You Need to Know About Identity Theft”. He teaches national classes on identity theft and is a researcher at Iowa State University, recently receiving his third grant with Homeland Security. In comparing the different credit monitoring products on the marketplace, he meted Pre-Paid Legal up against Lifelock, Equifax Credit Watch Gold and State Auto Insurance — PPL came out on top. McCoy says there’s only one leader in the industry that will not only monitor your five areas of identity daily (financial – surprisingly only 27% of the problem, drivers license ID, social security ID, character and criminal ID, and fastest growing area, medical ID), but get to work to put your identity back together again. For more information on how to protect your good name, visit www.wardoffidtheft.com.

I also had the pleasure of meeting Dave Savula, the top money earner in the company, at a banquet Friday night!

We are starting a national expansion of our company, so if you know anyone who may be interested in generating some additional income from the comfort of their home, visit www.wardoffidtheft.com to watch a 15 minute overview to see if it’s a match for them.

In closing, a shot of the windmills providing clean energy in Wyoming.

hit the road, jack March 12, 2008

In the last two days, we’ve driven across Wyoming, Colorado, Kansas, finally arriving in Oklahoma City for the Pre-Paid Legal Convention. For dinner, I got my first taste of authentic southern cooking at the Cracker Barrel – a little heavier than the food I’m used to. This might explain why my stomach is up and down…

To Vote or Not To Vote? February 18, 2008

If only it were a choice! Being a resident alien (there HAS to be some nicer way to say this) in the United States, while entitled to live and work among Americans, one thing I am not allowed to do is vote. Having followed the caucus voting and primaries across the nation on NPR , I feel like I have a pretty good idea who would get my vote. At this point though, it doesn’t matter. After all this talk of presidential candidates, I’m ashamed to say I had to look up who the Prime Minister of Canada was! One thing I’ve observed is that world affairs covered in the American media primarily consist of the Middle East. And sometimes China. Hardly a mention of Canada. One can live in Canada and still be kept abreast of the happenings within the United States, though apparently not the other way around. The British rule in Canada apparently does much to keep our home and native land connected to the rest of the world.

Politics aside, the weather has been in fine form! One of my clients outside Nashville, Tennessee was telling me this week about the tornadoes that tore through his hometown, narrowly missing his home. Apparently one of his neighbors with a storm shelter was sucked out of the shelter by the twister, leaving his wife and children behind, and was carried by the tornado for several miles. After touching down, he got in touch with friends and loved ones via his two-way radio, reporting he was bleeding to death, sent his love and final regards. Thankfully he is alive, and though not well, healing in the hospital.

While we have had nowhere the tragic weather, Utah was hit by a snowstorm that came out of left field. While the weather men saw it coming, we’d enjoyed two days of sunny and warm spring-is-coming weather and no one wanted to believe the storm was imminent. While not much snow fell, the wind blew up to 70 mph and debilitated Utah Valley. We were without power in Saratoga Springs for hours and children were stranded at Alpine Elementary School and forced to stay the night because buses couldn’t get through the snow. Because of a 16-car-pileup close to our home, the police shut down major thoroughfares and it took us 3 hours to drive 10 miles home! One of our neighbors endured a whopping 6 hours trek home from Salt Lake!

Enough good news for one entry! This week I have been more productive with my time and waded further into Pre-Paid Legal. While somewhat uncomfortable to tip-toe outside my comfort zone, I was rewarded by meeting some astounding individuals.

Tim and I also attended our ward Valentines dinner and dance on Friday night and enjoyed a lovely evening of good food and company. Unfortunately all the sappy 80s love songs were first on the roster and they saved the good music till the end — but we were still there to kick off our shoes and cut a rug. It was a good night that ended with watching a Ridley Scott film called A Good Year and falling asleep on the couch. We seem to do that a lot lately. A lovely end to a full day.