Fake Companies, Real Money. Article on MSNBC.com

MSNBC.com published an article on October 7, 2004 titled "Fake companies, real money"
The article was written by Bob Sullivan, Technology correspondent.

If you run a business and accept credit cards, or are even thinking about using credit cards for business sales, you MUST read this article.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6175738/

This kind of fraud against business was alluded to in the NewYorkTimes.com article "Identity Theft is Epidemic. Can It Be Stopped?". (I posted that on Sunday when the article appeared.)

I hadn't realized how many ways this is being worked by these thieves. In the NYTimes article, the thieves were using stolen credit cards to go into Home Depot and purchase expensive tools, then selling them off at half price to convert their purchases into cash quickly. Anybody need some cheap tools?

Our Identity Theft Shield does not cover Identity Theft against businesses (it is only available to individuals--including the member and spouse), but our Small Business Plan will help businesses get the creditors off their back when there are fraudulent charges against the business.

A quote from the article: "The bad news is, some of the providers are still trying to make him pay the bill for the charges. He figures he has spent about $5,000 in legal fees trying to clean up the mess."

Our Pre-Paid Legal Small Business Plans will provide access to attorneys who can help you clear these charges from your accounts--and get the creditors off your back. This may not come entirely without cost (an initial letter will come at no cost over the monthly membership fee), but you will have qualified, experienced attorneys working with you, and you will at the very least pay a discounted rate for the services.

If any of these creditors actually sue you, you will have 75 hours of attorney time already paid for. That could be worth $20 to $30,000 in attorney fees that you will not have to pay.

Get back to me for more information or just go to:
http://www.prepaidlegal.com/biz/grschmidt

George Schmidt
http://www.prepaidlegal.com/hub/grschmidt
pplconcord@yahoo.com

New York Times Article "Identity Theft Is Epidemic. Can It Be Stopped?"

The New York Times has just published an extensive article at: http://www.NewYorkTimes.com
You can find the article under the "Most Emailed Articles" or simply go to:

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/24/business/yourmoney/24theft.html?ex=1099721511&ei=1&en=d752c2aece8a1579

This article details the successful investigation of a ring of Identity Thieves who victimized 30,000 people nationwide and illicitly netted more than $50 Million. This ring was only caught because the principal character had left a link to his home phone! Typically, people like this are only caught when they make a dumb mistake, like this one.

The victims spend sleepless nights and months repairing their credit history. The task is beyond what most people can actually do on their own. Our Identity Theft Shield and Kroll Background Investigations take most of that work and expense off your hands--as long as you become a member before you have reason to know that you have become a victim. The clock is ticking! You may already be a victim and not know it--yet!

"Analysts say several factors have combined to make identity theft a particularly intractable crime: the growth of the internet and digital finance, decades of expanding consumer credit worldwide, the hodgepodge nature of local and federal law enforcement, and the changing but often still inadequate regulations governing the credit industry."

"Everyone is fair game. Thieves recently snatched the identity of a three-week-old infant in Bothell, Washington. And authorities say that the dead have been favorite targets of identity thieves for years......"

"In a report prepared by its consumer portection bureau, the F.T.C. said 27.3 million Americans had their identities stolen from April 1998 to April 2003--with more than a third of them, or 9.9 million, victimized the the last 12 months of that period alone...."

"Many of the most vicious cases, say analysts, involve corporate insiders who hijack sensitive personal information from corporate databases in order to begin picking people's pockets."
You have almost certainly given all of your most critical personal information out on a legitimate basis to lenders, refinance companies, employers, car dealers, insurance companies--you name it. If they have it, and they do, you are vulnerable and need to protect yourself.

The insider on the case described in the article was an employee of Equifax. Whoops! Can you trust any company with your personal data? The obvious answer is "NO". You need a means of protecting yourself.

In this case, the data providers were paid $60 for each identity. "Both Mastercard and Visa monitor Websites that broker stolen credit card numbers and other personal information. 'One of the things we have discovered is that your identity is worth about $10 on the Internet', said Linda Locke, a MasterCard spokeswoman."

I personally was hit by an identity thief in Ontario, Canada on a recent vacation trip. Someone at our hotel, the car rental agency, or a restaurant, copied down my name and credit card number. They proceeded to use that information to order $419 worth of athletic apparel from a catalog company for shipment to Ontario. Fortunately for us, American Express personnel thought this was a bit fishy, since my wife's name is not "Helen" and shipping the purchases off to Ontario didn't ring true, since we clearly don't live there.

Noone can prevent you from becoming a victim of Identity Theft. You cannot avoid it, no matter how careful you are, even though there are many things you should do to minimize the risk.

What you can do is check immediately to see if you may already be a victim, and find out faster when anyone is using your identity for unauthorized purposes. You can also get the help of Kroll Background Investigations to help clear up your accounts and your credit after you become a victim of identity theft. Kroll will furnish you with a fresh credit report, do a background investigation to see if your identity is being used, then continuously monitor ALL of your accounts--not just a credit card or bank account--anything that could affect your credit. They will let you know immediately if there is ANY activity that could affect your credit.

If you become a victim, Kroll will assign an experienced investigator to work with you to clean up your credit and rid yourself of the black marks on your credit. You probably could not do this yourself, and even if you could, it could take you months or years while your credit is ruined.

Don't wait! if you have reason to know that you have become a victim, items related to that theft will NOT be covered. BUT--if you have already become a victim, you need this service even more, because your identity is already out there to be used again.

Get yourself protected today for as little as $9.95 per month if added to a Legal Plan, or $12.95 per month as a stand-alone service, covering both your accounts and those of your spouse--two accounts for one membership fee. There is a one-time $10 enrollment fee. Existing or previous Pre-Paid Legal members will need a paper application rather than enrolling on-line. Just send me your mailing address, and I will get a package off to you right away!

http://www.prepaidlegal.com/idt/grschmidt
Watch the video at the website

If you want to order both the Family Plan (legal protection for yourself and covered family members) and the Identity Theft Shield, you will get the discounted rate on the Identity Theft Shield and have access to our top-ranked attorneys nation-wide. For both, go to:

http://www.prepaidlegal.com/info/grschmidt
Site has a video on our Family Plan

George Schmidt
925-676-1926 or
888-559-2135 (Toll Free For Messages Only)
http://www.prepaidlegal.com/hub/grschmidt

Identity Theft Quotes

Here are a few quotes that we think adequately relay the pervasiveness of identity theft in our society today:

Seven million Americans were the victim of identity theft in 2002, an increase of 81% over 2001 levels. Incidents reported in 2003 suggest another major rise.2

"These results document that ID theft and fraud are now both an organized and a freelance criminal activity of major proportions.2- Dr. Alan Westin - Professor Emeritus of Public Law and Government at Columbia University - Privacy & American Business

Although 34 million U.S. consumers spent $2.5 billion on privacy protection products in 2002, 98 million adults do not know how to protect themselves against identity theft.2
Americans are extremely pessimistic on ID theft with 91% expecting further increases in the incidence of ID theft in the near future.2

"One of the most harmful abuses of personal information is identity theft.consumer education is the first line of defense against this kind of fraud and deception."- George W. Bush - President of the United States - February 4, 2002

"...to get a prison term of 1 year for.[ID theft].in Pennsylvania, a defendant would have to steal approximately $100,000.a felony drug.conviction involving 2 grams of cocaine.street value $200.has a mandatory minimum.of 1 year of imprisonment..."4

"In a recent national survey of homeowners, 12% reported having been casualties of identity theft.it is hard to think of another crime that has touched such a large portion of Americans. A separate survey recently found that Americans are more concerned about becoming a victim of identity theft than they are of losing their job."- Wayne A. Abernathy - Assistant Secretary of the Treasury - May 8, 2003

"Financial Insights, a market-research firm, estimates that losses related to identity theft among U.S. financial institutions will rise to $8.8 billion by 2006 from $4.4 billion this year."5

2 Westin, Dr. Alan. Privacy & American Business Survey. July 30, 2003. Survey Finds 33.4 Million Americans Victims of ID Theft; Consumer Out-of-Pocket Expenses Total $1.5 Billion a Year.
4 GAO. Identity Theft: Greater Awareness and Use of Existing Data Are Needed. June 2002.
5 Clark, Dan. .Software Helps Spot Fraud in Fake Credit Applications.. The Wall Street Journal OnLine. May 14, 2003.
For more information on how to protect your IDENTITY from THEFT, please contact me. Pre-Paid Legal Services, Inc has now teamed up with the #1 Company in that industry.

http://www.prepaidlegal.com/idt/grschmidt

A Group Legal Plan Makes Good Sense

An article published by the Benefits Selling Magazine in their October 2004 edition address the subject of "Group Legal Plans". The article is written byMike Solomon with illustrations by Bryan Peterson. The title of the article is: "A Primer on Group Legal Plans".
You can enroll for the newsletter at: http://www.BenefitsSellingMag.com

In the article, Mike Solomon states: "What is a group legal plan?
Much like a dental or health plan provides coverage for dentist and doctor visits, group legal plans offer employees and families paid-in-full and discounted rates for legal services."

"Why offer a group legal plan?
From a broker'sperspective, adding a group legal plan to your menu of offerings allows you to accomplish many of your organizations goals: it keeps you competitive by adding value to your existing clients, increases your potential revenue stream through commissions, and serves as a great door opener for new business."

"At Westchester Benefits, Bob Loeb uses the programs as a door opener."

"I have my account executives positioning their prospecting calls by introducing legal plans as a new and important benefit instead of the same old lines ... you can't rely on just offering to analyze a prospects current health plan anymore, you have to remain current and creative, he says."

"From the employers persective, a group legal plan allows them to accomplish many of their benefit goals as well. It serves as a great recruitment and retention tool; it fills an important and necessary employee need; and, most importantly, it saves employers and employees valuable time and money.

Research shows that employees with legal or financial problems are five times more likely than average to be absent; incur sick leave twice as much; and use medical benefits up to four times more than the average employee. According to the American Bar Association, one half of all consumers will require the services of a lawyer within the next 12 months."

"We just installed our first few group legal plans last year as a test and were surprised with the overwhelming interest and positive response, adds Vince Truong of Waldman Insurance Services."

"A group legal plan makes good sense.
A group legal plan provides employees with affordable and necessary access to legal, and in some cases, financial assistance. Whether you offer a plan to increase revenues, enhance your existing offerings or provide more value to your clients and prospets, a group legal plan just makes good sense."

Shouldn't you be offering your clients a legal plan? If you don't, someone else will.

Visit my Group Website: http://www.prepaidlegal.com/group/grschmidt
Visit my site for Insurance Agents and Financial Planners: http://www.prepaidlegal.com/plan/grschmidt

Contact me with any questions, or for more information.

We have a special promotion on now, but for a very short period that will save you $100 in getting started offering Pre-Paid Legal benefits to your clients.

George Schmidt
Independent Sales Associate
Pre-Paid Legal Services, Inc.
925-676-1926
http://www.prepaidlegal.com/hub/grschmidt

Las Vegas Ranked Number Two In Identity Theft

"Las Vegas ranks number two in the nation for identity theft.

Victims often spend several years and several thousand dollars to recover. Now identity theft insurance can provide an additional level of protection." (Quote from Eyewitness News--Channel 8 in Las Vegas)

The article tells the story of a Las Vegas woman who spent three days in jail after her purse was stolen. A thief used her identity to rip off others in a credit card scam.

Her nightmare also cost her $15,000 and two years of her life to straighten it out.

Identity Theft can really mess up your life!
It can happen to you!

75 new reports of Identity Theft in Las Vegas every week! (Many other cases are not reported)

Check out this link to view the TV news clip:
http://klas-tv.com/Global/story.asp?S=2372496&nav=168XRVgG

You can protect yourself from the Fastest Growing Crime in America.
With the Identity Theft Shield, you will save a lot of time and pain cleaning up your accounts if you become a victim--and its only a matter of time!
You will receive a fresh credit report to review for existing problems
You will have all of your accounts continuously monitored for problems
You will receive notice if there is possible fraudulent activity--even if YOU open a new account
You will be assigned an experienced investigator to do most of the work for you in clearing up your credit

Both you and your spouse will be covered with one membership.
Watch the new video at: http://www.prepaidlegal.com/idt/grschmidt
You can enroll right on-line.

If You Don't Think You Are Vulnerable, Think Again!

Only the Identity Theft Shield provides for restoration of your credit!
A bargain at: $9.95 per month with a Legal Plan
Just $12.95 per month as a stand-alone service (One time $10 enrollment fee applies)


George Schmidt
Independent Sales Associate
Pre-Paid Legal Services, Inc
http://www.prepaidlegal.com/hub/grschmidt

Pre-Paid Legal Plans Are Fastest Growing Employee Benefit

Did you know that Pre-Paid Legal Plans are the fastest growing employee benefit? Employees are asking their companies to provide the Pre-Paid Legal memberships in increasing numbers because they realize that "It just makes sense!" and this is a service that they need! and can't afford to be without.

Employees shop benefits when they are comparing job situations. Don't you want the very best employees available? You want to make sure that the benefits package you are offering is the most complete available, and includes Pre-Paid Legal Family Plans and our Identity Theft Shield.

Check out the websites listed on this page, and go to:
http://www.prepaidlegal.com/group/grschmidt

The following article was published in the Employee Benefit News. Go to BenefitNews.com for the complete article.
George Schmidt

From A to Z: Voluntary benefits meet a wide range of employee needs
Employee Benefit News • September 15, 2004

Voluntary benefits are gaining extra luster in the eyes of employers who continue to look for ways to reduce their benefit costs, experts say.
"We're seeing companies of all sizes continuing to advance the number of voluntary benefits that they provide to their employees," says Garry Sullivan, senior vice president at Aon Consulting. "It's a very active and fluid field right now."
"Voluntary continues to show strong sales growth," Gil Lowerre, president of Eastbridge Consulting, notes. "As employers struggle to control the costs of employee benefits, more products are moving from mostly employer-paid to more employee-paid or even 100% employee-paid. One way we see this emerging is in the increase in the sales of group platform products. Additionally, traditional employee benefit brokers have increased their dominance in terms of the sale of voluntary/worksite products, accounting for roughly 34% of all new sales in 2003."
The advantages of voluntary benefits include convenience, tax savings and discounts for employees, and increased worker loyalty and cost-containment for the employer.