It Will Never Happen to Us

But it did.

Apparently, we are just one of 10 million Americans that are victims of identity theft.

Actually, I take that back.

My 5-year-old daughter is the victim of identity theft.

A couple of months ago, Jason and I decided that we wanted to purchase the peace of mind provided by an identity protection service. We (actually, Jason did all the hard work) did a lot of research into whether or not we wanted to protect our identity ourselves for free, or hire a company to do the hard-work for us. We compared several companies and decided to go with Debix. We felt the price was right and liked their proactive action.

After enrolling, we started getting reports on our credit and everything was clean. Except for Lucy. Apparently, someone in North Carolina and California has used her Social Security number to secure over $12,000 in car loans and debt settlement payments. The good news is she is not financially responsible. The bad news is she would have had severe problems in the future when applying for jobs, college or her own loans. Thankfully, that's all being taken care of now.

Yesterday, I took her to the sheriff's department to file a police report. On the way, she asked why we had to see the police. I told her that she had her own "special number" that was for her to use and for no one else. Someone else was using her number and the police were going to help us get it back. She really loved the idea of having a number that was hers and hers alone and was angry that anyone else would use it without her "permission."

The few hundred dollars that we've spent on Debix has already paid for itself. I highly recommend their service to anyone. In fact, I have a "friends and family code" to use if you would like to join up with them. But whether you go with Debix, another firm or choose to protect your identity yourself, take those steps.

Take them now.