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tv   Identity Theft News  CNBC  March 26, 2017 2:30pm-3:01pm EDT

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more to stream to every screen. >> announcer: the following is a paid presentation for lifelock, the best identity-theft protection available. >> wherever you are in america, identity theft is there too. from big cities to small towns, we are all at risk. >> i logged onto my bank account and found that i had no funds whatsoever. it made no sense, and it made me feel helpless. i could not believe that somebody would steal my tax refund. it made me angry. >> i started getting phone calls from credit collection companies. "you've opened an account here, and here, and here." they wanted payment. payment for things that i did
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not do. >> announcer: identity theft is the fastest growing crime in america. what does that mean to you? find out as we take an inside look at identity theft with lifelock. now, here's tom jourden. >> today's technology makes identity theft easier and easier. if you use a smartphone, shop online, use public wi-fi, or fill out forms or applications, you're at risk. even your personal information stored by insurers, employers, schools, and others is vulnerable to identity thieves. your information is out there. and buying and selling it is big business for criminals, who can steal your identity from almost anywhere in the world. >> in today's digital world, you are more likely to actually have your identity stolen than your car stolen or your home burglarized. >> if your personal information is out there, it could be used again and again and again. it's not out there to only one person. it could be spread out to numerous identity thieves all over the world. >> how much do you really know about identity theft? do you think it's just crooks
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making charges on your credit card? think again. credit card fraud is only a small part of identity theft. it's just the tip of the iceberg. thieves can commit much more serious crimes. they can take out loans in your name, steal your tax refund, or use your medical insurance to file claims. they can even give your name if they're arrested. >> someone got ahold of my driver's license number, and obtained tickets pretending to be me, giving my information to the police officer. my employer told me that i had seven days to clear it up or i would be unemployed. i had to prove that i was innocent, because to them i'm looking guilty, as if i have something to hide. >> there's a new victim of identity fraud every two seconds. 1 in 4 people have already experienced it. and over 160 million records were exposed in 2015 alone. if you have a social security number, it could happen to you. is there anything you can do about it? >> i signed up for lifelock. we have someone in our corner to help fight that fight. >> millions of people have
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already made the smart choice to become members of lifelock, because it's the best identity-theft protection available. lifelock's award-winning technology scans hundreds of millions of transactions each second to spot threats to your identity. if you're a member, and lifelock detects your information being used, you get an alert. and unlike free credit monitoring that just monitors your credit, lifelock detects a wide range of identity threats. if you have an identity-theft problem, a u.s.-based lifelock agent will work to fix it. >> we have your back. we're gonna be there for you. we're going to give you that peace of mind. >> you have this whole team of people on your side, and you know that you don't have to go it alone. >> it was like, "ah, they know what they're doing." great feeling. >> identity thieves don't discriminate based on your income, location, or age. i've been a victim. and even my daughter, when she was just 7 years old, had her social security number stolen. when it happens to you, you want -- you need -- to be prepared. today, we're going to take a close look at the world of identity theft. so you can understand where
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you're at risk and learn how to help protect yourself. >> in my early days with the fbi, the crooks would go into a bank with sunglasses and a hat, rob the bank, they'd probably get caught, face 10 years in prison. now they steal our identities. >> former fbi special agent jeff lanza was in the field for over 20 years. he's an expert in identity fraud and cybercrime, and he believes everyone needs help protecting their identities. 10 years ago, i didn't even think about identity theft but then, unfortunately, i became a victim. and now we hear that it's the fastest-growing crime in america. i think most people think if they have a problem, their bank or credit-card company will just take care of it for them, right? >> well, it depends on what the problem is. if the problem is credit-card fraud -- someone used your existing credit-card number or cloned your card -- yeah, the bank will take care of that. but that's just one part of the problem of identity theft. there's a much broader problem, and that is when someone steals your identity entirely. they've got your i.d., they've got your social security number, they apply for these accounts in your name. you don't even know it's happening. you may not figure it out until you get a call from a bill
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collector or credit-card company that says you're past due on a credit card that you don't even know you had. >> so, when you're on your own, you're kind of just blind that this is happening, 'cause there's no one out there looking out for you. >> that's exactly right. you know, we have our jobs, we have our family, we have our life. do you want to take hours out of your day, maybe for days and weeks at a time, to try to figure out how to correct the problems that the identity thief caused? if you were gonna do all that, i don't know how much time it would take or even where you would begin to do that. you don't have the technology to do that. >> what can we do to protect ourselves? >> the earlier identity theft gets detected, the sooner you can address the issues and stop it from getting worse, and that's where lifelock comes in. they deal with this every day. so, when people get their identity stolen, you know, they know what to do and they help you through that. and you don't have to think, "what do i do next? who do i call? how do i handle this?" they're gonna help you get through all that. and to me, that alone is great peace of mind. even if it were to happen to me, i know i got somebody working for me that's gonna help me get through it. >> technology makes our life easier, but it also makes identity theft easier.
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jim stickley is a cybersecurity expert paid by fortune 100 companies to think like a hacker. we asked him to show us how criminals can steal information from us when we're least expecting it. >> no one thinks they're gonna fall victim to identity theft, but check this out. in a café like this, you know, people have this idea that they're safe when they're online. they feel that it's being provided by the local café here, so it should be safe. the reality is, though, that something like this -- this is a wi-fi device -- can be brought to a local café, set up right here in front of people without them even knowing it, and instead of them connecting to the wi-fi in the organization, they'll be connecting to this wi-fi device instead. well, if they type in log-in credentials, i've got them. if they type in a password, i've got it. if they type in credit-card information, i'll get that, as well. all of this information can be captured by the criminal, and then they can use that information to commit identity theft. i do these scams to show people what's going on out there. criminals are continually finding new ways to rip people off. and the bottom line is, you need somebody in your court. that's why lifelock makes all
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the difference in the world. >> what exactly does lifelock do to help you protect your identity? to find out, we talked to some of the people at lifelock, whose one job is to help protect your identity. >> all our information, my personal information is out there, your personal information is already out there, whether it's out there because of a data breach, whether it's innocent usage of social media. it doesn't take a whole lot of effort to commit identity fraud. so lifelock is always trying to stay one step ahead to make sure that we've got the latest technology in place to tell our members when their identity is used within our network. >> if you're a lifelock member, you'll get alerts like this when lifelock detects your information being used. if it's you, no problem. but if it's not you, a dedicated u.s.-based lifelock agent does almost all of the work for you to help fix it. they have the expertise to get the job done, and that can save hours, days, even weeks of your time. >> our responsibility, our job, and our pride is in making sure we do what we say we're going to
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do. so my initial step is letting the member know exactly what's going to happen during our phone conversation so that we can create this plan for us to start working on getting this issue resolved for them. >> we help with all different types of identity theft. as small as credit cards, it could be as large as home mortgages. it could be tax fraud during tax season. i can work any case for you. >> my cellphone goes off at just past 6:00 a.m., and it's a text alert from lifelock. someone attempted to use my name and social security number to open a credit card. they filled out an application online with a $10,000 limit. lifelock caught it, notified me, and we were able to stop that credit card from ever being issued because we caught it early enough in the processing phase. >> if your identity is stolen, don't you want the problem handled by professionals? a credit-card company might help you with a charge you didn't make, but lifelock does much more. because they're completely dedicated to resolving all types of identity theft and helping
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you protect your personal information beyond just your credit cards. don't wait until you're a victim. here's how to join today. >> announcer: how vulnerable are you to identity theft? do you shop online? give out your birth date or social security number? use a smartphone? 1 out of 4 people have been a victim of identity theft. could you be next? >> i was scared. she had my home address, she had my telephone number, she had my social security number, and she was able to make a purchase for $8,000. >> i was hit with 12 different cases of identity theft within three days. how did somebody get ahold of my identity and become me? >> when your identity is stolen, you just feel so violated and just so helpless. but knowing that you have lifelock, it just -- you have this whole team of people on your side, and you know that you don't have to go it alone. >> announcer: now it's your turn. join the millions of people who made the smart choice to become members of lifelock, the best identity-theft protection available. a lifelock membership means you
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have award-winning technology working for you, scanning hundreds of millions of transactions each second to detect and alert you to threats. if we detect your information being used, we will send you an alert. if you have a problem, a dedicated u.s.-based agent will be assigned to your case and take the lead to fix it. >> when i have been assigned to a member's case, i am actually their restoration specialist throughout the term of the membership. >> announcer: while free credit monitoring only alerts you to changes in credit, lifelock detects a wide range of identity threats and helps to resolve problems. >> lifelock, they're not just gonna monitor your credit. they're gonna be there to help you afterwards, if something happens. the credit-monitoring agencies, they're just gonna go, "nope, you had an issue. it's on you." whereas lifelock says, "let us help you." >> announcer: our u.s.-based team of specialists works to resolve all types of identity theft. and we'll spend up to $1 million on lawyers and experts if that's what it takes. >> they know everything that there's no way i could know. i don't have to think about "how do i fix this?" i turn it over to lifelock and they'll help me.
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>> announcer: when thieves steal your identity, it can cost you time, money, and peace of mind. be prepared so you don't have to face identity theft alone. start your lifelock membership right now for as little as $9.99 a month. every lifelock member gets identity-threat detection and alerts, a u.s.-based agent working to fix issues, up to $1 million for lawyers and experts if needed. >> we have an alarm system on our house. we didn't wait for our house to be robbed before we put it in. with lifelock, i wanted to have somebody on my side who was helping us be proactive and protect our identity. >> announcer: and listen to this -- when you call today and use promo code "tv60," you'll get 60 days of your lifelock membership risk-free. and for extra security at home, we will also send you this document shredder for all your unwanted sensitive documents. a $29 value, it's free with your annual membership. your identity matters. so don't wait. call right now. join in minutes. protection starts immediately. >> i feel like not having lifelock is kind of like not wearing a seatbelt in a car.
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why would you do it? >> announcer: lifelock. or visit trylifelock.com. use promo code "tv60" to get 60 days risk-free and a free shredder with annual membership. start your membership with lifelock today and get the best identity-theft protection available. call right now. >> what's the difference between facing identity theft alone and having lifelock? meet jamie and elaine. both had their personal information stolen. but jamie did not have lifelock, and she struggled with identity theft for two and a half years. >> i just thought i would call the bank and rectify the situation and that would be it. and it was not. there's so much that you need to handle and take care of that you're not even aware of. i talked to i can't even tell you how many people at how many different agencies. there was always something else to take care of, another number to call, another avenue to try to exhaust to clear up my
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credit, and it just did not happen. two and a half years that i tried to deal with this on my own. and i got nowhere. >> when criminals tried to use elaine's social security number to open up a cellphone account, lifelock detected it in their network. they sent her an alert, and she spoke to a lifelock agent. >> and the lifelock representative said that she wanted to conference me in with the cellphone company so that i could verify that it was in fact not me. and they turned down the application. it was a very easy process. and that's why i'm glad i was a member of lifelock. >> so, what exactly does lifelock do to find potential threats to your identity? i spoke to dr. stephen coggeshall, lifelock's chief analytics and science officer, to find out how lifelock's proprietary technology works. dr. coggeshall, thanks for being here. >> my pleasure. >> tell me about lifelock's proprietary technology. >> well, we do a variety of things. and what we do is really cool. lifelock's exclusive technology monitors hundreds of millions of transactions every second, watching for applications for credit cards, retail credit, cellphones, and even loans and
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mortgages. we look for the use of your personal information, such as your social security number, so we can confirm that your transactions really are yours. >> and then you alert me, as a lifelock customer, if you see something out of the ordinary? >> that's correct. if a member gets an alert, they have the opportunity to say, "oh, yeah, that's me." but if it's not them, if they're sitting home watching tv and they get one of these alerts, they can press a button and contact lifelock, and we start the process of shutting that fraud attempt down. lifelock's primary purpose is to help protect our members from identity fraud. that's the reason we started as a company. that's our purpose in life. that's our reason for existence. >> it's a huge amount of relief for our members that they say, "you know what, i don't really know what to do, but i know who i can call." and when they make that phone call, the agent takes the lead. their job is to take that effort and energy off your plate and make sure that we get this thing resolved as quickly as possible. >> when a member comes to me and after the initial set of paperwork that i collect, i can then take their case off their hands. they can move on with their day-to-day life, and i take the
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case from there. >> we have the knowledge of the specific questions that need to be asked. we have the knowledge of what department we need to speak with. we have the knowledge of what correspondence you need to receive confirming this has been resolved. >> trying to handle it on your own can take so much time, so much effort, and if you don't know what to do or what to say, sometimes it doesn't even get resolved. and so it's huge that they're getting that resolution and everything is taken care of for them. they know that for sure. >> so here i am, trying to call and prove that i'm the real jennifer, and they just don't believe me. >> announcer: when jennifer was alerted that a credit card had been opened in her name, she thought it would be simple to shut it down herself. >> i probably talked to six or seven people. each time, i'd have to repeat my story. "i did not sign up for this credit card. i don't owe you any money." that person says, "well, i can't help you, but let me transfer you to this person," and it's just so aggravating. it's like, "just send me to the right person." when my lifelock agent got involved, she knew exactly who to talk to. when i got the final resolution from lifelock, like, it was like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders.
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honestly, i don't know what i would've done without lifelock. >> have you given your private information to an identity thief? jim stickley shows us how you could get tricked into doing just that. >> so here's another scam that criminals will do. they'll get an 800 phone number and they'll set it up so that it will be able to forward to their own cellphone. then they'll call up and they'll leave you a voicemail message, and they'll pretend to be from your financial institution. so when you get home and hear this message, immediately you're concerned. so you call the 800 number, and then they'll say for security purposes, they need to know your social security number. people are used to hearing this all the time. "may i verify your social security number?" as far as you're concerned, you just took care of a problem with your account. perfect, give me just one second to pull up your account here. in reality, you just gave up your personal information. that's all i needed. yeah, no problem at all. and that's how easy it is to steal someone's social security number. >> in 2015, i got a letter from the irs saying they needed to prove my identity. somebody had filed a return in my name. to know that somebody knew
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enough about me that they could go through with filing a tax return with my name, my social security number, it just felt wrong. well, when i called bobby, my lifelock agent, and when she started going through the process, the steps, it was like, "ah, they know what they're doing." great feeling. >> do you shred your documents? have strong passwords? have a good relationship with your bank? do you believe these things will protect you from having your identity stolen? well, they're not always enough. lifelock members have identity-theft protection in place before a problem occurs. if identity theft hits them, they have someone on their side to help catch it before a small spark of a problem turns into a forest fire. and that can make all the difference. >> announcer: like it or not, your personal information is out there, stored by insurers, employers, schools, and more. it's everywhere, and it could be stolen. it's no wonder 1 in 4 people have been a victim of identity theft. if your identity is stolen, who will work with you to resolve
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your case? don't face identity thieves alone. there is something you can do to help protect yourself. >> i signed up for lifelock. we have someone in our corner to help fight that fight. >> announcer: join the millions of people who made the smart choice to become members of lifelock, the best identity-theft protection available. a lifelock membership means you have award-winning technology working for you, scanning hundreds of millions of transactions each second to detect and alert you to threats. if we detect your information being used, we will send you an alert. if you have a problem, a u.s.-based agent will be assigned to your case and take the lead to fix it. >> every single time the lifelock agent, if we've had to stay on the phone too long with the other company, the agent will always say, "let me take this, angela. i'll call you back when i get them back." and i just feel like they respected my time and me. >> announcer: while free credit monitoring only alerts you to changes in credit, lifelock detects a wide range of identity threats and helps to resolve problems. >> lifelock -- they're not just gonna monitor your credit. they're gonna be there to help you afterwards if something
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happens. >> announcer: our u.s.-based team of specialists works to resolve all types of identity theft, and we'll spend up to $1 million on lawyers and experts if that's what it takes. >> you have this whole team of people on your side, and you know that you don't have to go it alone. >> announcer: start your lifelock membership right now for as little as $9.99 a month. every lifelock member gets identity-threat detection and alerts, a u.s.-based agent working to fix issues, up to $1 million for lawyers and experts if needed. and listen to this -- when you call today and use promo code "tv60," you'll get 60 days of your lifelock membership risk-free. and for extra security at home, we will also send you this document shredder for all your unwanted, sensitive documents. a $29 value, it's free with your annual membership. your identity matters, so don't wait. call right now. join in minutes. protection starts immediately. >> having lifelock there to help us through -- we didn't feel like victims anymore. >> announcer: lifelock.
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or visit trylifelock.com. use promo code "tv60" to get 60 days risk-free and a free shredder with annual membership. start your membership with lifelock today and get the best identity-theft protection available. call right now. >> if your identity is stolen, it could be by just one culprit. but identity theft can also be organized crime -- criminals breaking into servers, breaching the personal information of thousands, and even millions of people at a time. and your information could be included. >> so, what happens when your information is stolen in a breach? what do criminals do with that information? well, unfortunately, much of it ends up right here on the dark web. this is a place where criminals can go to put items up for sale with very, very little risk of ever having that information traced back to them. so let me show you an example
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here. in this particular case, this is somebody who's bundled up 48,000 medical records for sale on this one particular black-market website. these records include things like your name, your address, your phone number, your social security number, your date of birth. all of the information that makes you who you are is currently for sale in this one big bundle along with 48,000 other people. now, you think about it from a criminal's standpoint. they're gonna take this information, and now they can go out and start committing all types of fraud. so they can do things like open up new charge accounts, get a new loan. they can get a fake i.d. that has your information but their picture, and now they can go to stores and open up lines of credit that are billed back to you. it doesn't matter how good you are at personally protecting your identity. it can still end up with all of your information out there. if you have lifelock before a problem occurs and they detect your personal information being used, they can help address it before it becomes a major issue. >> you know, i've always heard of these data breaches at retailers. you always think it doesn't happen to you. and it did.
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my information, as well as that of many others, had been breached during the christmas shopping season by this major retailer. and that's when i said, "i have to protect my family." i called lifelock. [ chuckles ] it was so simple, and i actually was kicking myself that i didn't do it earlier. sometimes i even like hearing the ding, knowing there's an alert. lifelock makes me feel safe knowing someone is concerned about my future and that of my children. >> why can't free credit monitoring handle identity-theft protection for you? well, free credit monitoring just spots changes to your credit. but what good is seeing a problem if you don't fix it? lifelock alerts you to potential problems and helps you to fix them. and if you're a victim of identity theft, you need that to make sure a problem doesn't get out of hand. >> it's something that's out of my control. i can't protect my identity all the time with everything that i do. bad people are gonna get your information whether you want them to or not. i have, really, a teammate in lifelock, knowing that they're keeping an eye out for things, things that i couldn't do myself.
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and having them on my side. and it really is that [sighs] i can just relax and take one worry off my plate. >> protecting your identity is a smart financial move. personal finance expert, best-selling author, and journalist lynnette khalfani-cox helps her clients with their financial portfolios. here's what she had to say about identity-theft protection. >> you might be doing a lot of things right. you might be saving, planning for the future, investing. all of those things are great. but if you haven't taken time to protect yourself against the very real risk of identity theft, then you haven't really secured your family's finances in a way that's smart. this is financial protection that you can't afford not to have. it's kind of like the people who say to me, "uh, i'm too cash-strapped, and i can't afford to save." i say, "you can't afford not to save." likewise, you can't afford not to protect your credit health and your identity. >> a lot of times, the members are so grateful because they don't know how they would've resolved it on their own. those cases that do take a long
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time, the members will tell me, "i would've given up a long time ago." >> we really do help stop identity theft. we help close down the accounts that have been opened fraudulently. we give them a peace of mind that they wouldn't otherwise have. >> most of us procrastinate more than we should. we know identity theft is a very real problem. we think we'll put a plan in place, someday, right? now, maybe you've even thought about joining lifelock, and just haven't gotten around to it. in the meantime, identity theft is the fastest growing crime in america. why not join right now? put someone on your side to help spot problems before they grow, and then to help fix those problems. don't wait. do it right now. it takes just minutes to join, and your protection starts immediately. >> i've been attacked seven times since 2011. and each time, lifelock was there to help me. i'm gonna be a lifelock member for life. >> the value of lifelock to me, it's priceless. what's the value of your credit? what's the value of your family's credit?
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>> what is more important than making sure the only you out there is you? >> announcer: now it's your turn. join the millions of people who made the smart choice to become members of lifelock, the best identity-theft protection available. a lifelock membership means you have award-winning technology working for you, scanning hundreds of millions of transactions each second to detect and alert you to threats. if we detect your information being used, we will send you an alert. if you have a problem, a dedicated u.s.-based agent will be assigned to your case and take the lead to fix it. >> we really help deal with identity theft, period, whatever that identity theft might be, whether it is tax fraud, whether it's credit-card fraud, loan fraud, medical fraud. we go and help our member resolve that. >> announcer: while free credit monitoring only alerts you to changes in credit, lifelock detects a wide range of identity threats and helps to resolve problems. >> lifelock, they're not just gonna monitor your credit. they're gonna be there to help you afterwards, if something happens. the credit-monitoring agencies, they're just gonna go, "nope, you had an issue. it's on you."
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whereas lifelock says, "let us help you." >> announcer: our u.s.-based team of specialists works to resolve all types of identity theft. and we'll spend up to $1 million on lawyers and experts if that's what it takes. >> they know everything that there's no way i could know. i don't have to think about "how do i fix this?" i turn it over to lifelock and they'll help me. >> announcer: when thieves steal your identity, it can cost you time, money, and peace of mind. be prepared so you don't have to face identity theft alone. start your lifelock membership right now for as little as $9.99 a month. every lifelock member gets identity-threat detection and alerts, a u.s.-based agent working to fix issues, up to $1 million for lawyers and experts if needed. >> we have an alarm system on our house. we didn't wait for our house to be robbed before we put it in. with lifelock, i wanted to have somebody on my side who was helping us be proactive and protect our identity. >> announcer: and listen to this -- when you call today and use promo code "tv60," you'll get 60 days of your lifelock membership risk-free.
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and for extra security at home, we will also send you this document shredder for all your unwanted sensitive documents. a $29 value, it's free with your annual membership. your identity matters. so don't wait. call right now. join in minutes. protection starts immediately. >> i feel like not having lifelock is kind of like not wearing a seatbelt in a car. why would you do it? >> announcer: lifelock. or visit trylifelock.com. use promo code "tv60" to get 60 days risk-free and a free shredder with annual membership. start your membership with lifelock today and get the best identity-theft protection available. call right now. the preceding was a paid presentation for lifelock.
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>> announcer: the following is a paid presentation for lifelock, the best identity-theft protection available. >> wherever you are in america, identity theft is there too. from big cities to small towns, we are all at risk. >> i logged onto my bank account and found that i had no funds whatsoever. it made no sense, and it made me feel helpless. i could not believe that somebody would steal my tax refund. it made me angry. >> i started getting phone calls from credit collection companies. "you've opened an account here, and here, and here." they wanted payment. payment for things that i did

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