Identity Theft - "Monster.com took 5 days to disclose data theft"

A big thanks to Bob Omtvedt who passed this on to The Identity Theft Times.

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By Jim Finkle Fri Aug 24, 9:34 AM ET

"BOSTON (Reuters) - Monster.com waited five days to tell its users about a security breach that resulted in the theft of confidential information from some 1.3 million job seekers, a company executive told Reuters on Thursday."

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Identity Theft - Do you know what it really is?

Do you think you know what Identity Theft really is? After all, you are an intelligent person, you have read articles, seen television shows, watched commercials and they all say pretty much the same thing. Aside from the occasional horror story, identity theft is mostly about your credit cards and finances, right? Well, not exactly. There is no doubt identity theft is a heavily covered topic, but despite all of the media attention, the information you are receiving doesn’t even come close to telling the full story. It’s like the iceberg that sank the Titanic, what they saw at the surface, was not what caused the real problem. In fact, it was only the “tip” of the problem. It is the same with Identity theft, what you see in the media is only a small part of the real threat.

Okay, so if it isn’t what you’ve been told it is, then what is it? And even if you aren’t being told all of the details, why should you care? After all, Identity Theft happens to other people and not you. And when it does happen, it really isn’t that big of a deal, right? Well again, not exactly.

Just like the iceberg, the danger is real, and it is difficult to tell from the surface exactly what it will do to you. Fortunately, knowledge truly is power and the more of it you have, the better off you will be. Whether you are a nanny or a CEO, a politician or a policeman, a janitor or a doctor, Identity Theft should matter to you. Whether you have good credit or bad, no credit cards or a dozen, you are a felon or a saint, doesn’t matter. The fact is, someone else wants to be you, and chances are it won’t be in your best interest to have that happen.

The real question is, when it does happen, what do you do? Are there measures you can take to reduce it from taking place? Are there measures you can take to prevent it completely? Are there products you should buy or can you do it all yourself? If you own a business, should the idea of losing personal information about your customers or employees matter to you? Identity Theft is growing and changing every day, so it this not the definitive volume on the subject, but it will help you connect the dots so that you will have the basic knowledge you need to live with and respond to the threat of identity theft.