Blowing smoke..........................

Thought I would share with you my current rant...Lucky you!

Love, love, love my XM radio, but really HATE some of their commercials. The latest one of my despise is for identity theft protection, and starts out with a guy giving out his SS#. It then goes on to try and scare the listener into buying their product. Claiming they will guarantee up to a million dollars worth of protection for anything the thieves might get away with.

This commercial SO grates on my nerves that the other day I called Zander insurance and talked with one of the people that handle their identity theft protection policies. I found out that any one of us can call the credit bureau and get a fraud alert put on our accounts for a period of ninety days even if we have not fallen victim to identity theft. If we can do this, why in the world would we pay someone to do this for us, and how can they make a claim to put an alert on our account for as long as we are paying them? Did they cut some special deal with the credit card people, like debt consolidation people did? If you sign on the line with a debt consolidation group the credit card company will give you a very reduced interest rate, if you ask as a consumer, no such luck. One more reason to not use credit cards, but that is another rant.

And yes, according to the guy at Zanders, if you do happen to become a victim of identity theft you DO NOT owe any of the debt. You and I could call up Joe Smoe and tell him that we also guarantee that we will reimburse him any cost that he is out due to identity theft and we would not be lying and also never pay out a dime. Is Joe really stupid enough to fall for this?

What you are purchasing (with a Zander policy anyway, I will admit here to NOT calling the other company) is someone to deal with the hassle if you do become a victim. It can take hours if not years to clean up the mess if your information is used fraudulently, and only you can decide if having protection is worth the money. To help you decide it cost around eighty bucks a year to get an individual policy from Zander, and around one hundred-forty for a family, which includes two adults and any number of children up to age twenty-five (I think. I know it was twenty-something, and know that my two older kids are too old to be included in the family plan).

Having identity theft protection is no guarantee that you will not become a victim of it. There is no way to assure this, no matter what the commercial says. Actually, it isn't what it says, but the way we allow ourselves to hear it. It is a normal human response to believe anything to help us feel better. Which just reminded me.... Years ago, ( I was in my late twenties) one of the creeps I was dating told me he had a potentially life threatening illness. After I totally wigged out for about twenty minutes wondering how in the world I would live without "his greatness," he dropped the bomb that his POTENTIALLY life threatening illness was a form of VD and I would need to get myself tested. OH! YA! I could be a rich girl had I sold tickets to the fight we had after he told me that. IT WAS THAT GOOD! But I have to tell you that I actually did feel better knowing he really wasn't going to die! Even though I WANTED TO KILL HIM for doing that to me! Yes! go ahead and laugh! I know you want to, it is funny. Too funny! P.S. NO! For the record, I did NOT have VD!

The point here is to watch out for yourself by being smart. Shred potentially harmful info instead of just throwing it away. Watch what you log into on a public computer (this one was just on the TV this morning. Something about people checking their retirement accounts on public hotel computers and then having the entire account wiped out). Think before you give out any personal information instead of being lulled into believing the sales pitch. Having said this, if you still feel the need for more protection by all means get it. Just make sure you are getting what you pay for BEFORE signing on the dotted line, and make sure what you are getting is worth what you are paying for it. This goes for anything and anybody.

So I feel better having shared that, and will try and move on now that I have. In fact, the next time I hear the commercial I plan to do the adult mature thing... Put my hands over my ears and loudly say "La, la la, la," until it is over. Take that stupid commercial!