Identity Theft

It was high noon in August with a humidity so thick it needed to be cut with a chain saw just to breathe enough oxygen to walk from the house to the car. Florida was experiencing a hot summer. Rita noticed a black snake slithering across the front lawn as she backed her car out of the driveway.

Time for a nice lunch with her former financial colleagues. She was headed to one of the best restaurants in town, located at the inlet and couldn't wait to walk inside for a delicious lunch and delightful historic tales of past experiences with people she cared about.

When Rita walked into the restaurant she noticed that all twelve of her friends were already seated and having fun. As she sat down at the table she glanced at the coastal waterway through the large glass door that was near her table. The crystal clear blue water was alive with the Porpoise playfully swimming as if nothing else mattered. At that moment life was good. Rita and her friends had a lovely meal accompanied by a grand variety of funny stories about their past careers. They finished and then all thirteen former financial agents left to go about their business.

The next morning Rita had a phone call from one of the agents at that meeting. His bank account had been emptied. He had fourteen dollars left from a balance of ten thousand. As the day progressed Rita had received phone calls from everyone that she had lunch with the previous day. All of their bank accounts had been emptied within that twenty-four hour time frame. Rita learned from her bank that she too had been hit. Later in the day she learned that everyone who sat at a table near them had also had the devastation.

So what happened? Someone had used a small microchip and had scanned the debit and credit cards of the majority of the people at that restaurant that day. The Phantom thief with the computer chip had only walked by the victims and that chip had recorded all of the information from each card.

Unfortunately the Phantom thief will likely never be caught. That Phantom will set up additional accounts using the identity of all involved. It happens every day. How would you feel if you had been having lunch in that restaurant that day and experienced this tragedy?

No one is safe from Identity Theft. It can happen to anyone, any place at any time. Are you protected? Do you understand the violation of being stripped naked of your money? There are ways to become aware and protected.

And you may not take this article seriously and think it can never happen to you. Yes it can. Nothing is more dangerous than sincere ignorance. We are free to make the choice of keeping our head buried in the sand, but we are not free from the consequences of that choice.

Identity Theft has a new tool. A microchip that can read credit and debit cards remotely. No one is secure. Learn to protect your bank account. Identity Theft is the fastest growing crime in the world. Keeping abreast of the Phantom thievery requires tools with knowledge of how to use them. We keep you informed monthly about being safe and building a fortress around your computer and financial life. Join us in the grassroots campaign to create awareness. It just makes sense to seek help for maintaining a healthy life. Visit http://www.patrcagaines.com/ It is our honor to have you on our team.

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