Thank You Ft. Lewis and McChord Military Bases

It is the highest honor for me to be able to serve the United States military, who so valiantly and humbly serve every American. Just hours ago, I finished delivering an identity theft prevention speech to the soldiers and airmen of Ft. Lewis/McChord Military Installation in Tacoma, WA. Thanks to both bases, and to the Department of Defense for inviting me to speak with you.

During my speech, I promised to give you easy-to-complete action steps to protect your identity against theft, as well as that of your loved ones. I’d like to deliver on that promise by directing you to a full page article I’ve written specifically for you: The Military Identity Theft Protection Kit. If you have additional suggestions for protecting military IDs that I haven’t covered in this article, please include your comments at the bottom of the post. With your input, this conversation should contribute to the financial stability of our armed forces — Which is vital, because, as you are aware, financial readiness is mission readiness.

There were several questions that were asked after my speech was over that I wanted to address here:

  1. Does freezing your credit affect your ability to make charges on your credit card? Absolutely not! It only affects new accounts being set up (car loans, home loans, etc.) using your credit profile. It will not affect any existing accounts that you have. You will still be able to make purchases on your credit or debit card without any additional hassle.
  2. How do I protect my kids? I recommend that you simply monitor your kid’s credit reports, much like you would your own. I will do some research this weekend and will post the information sites to help you out with this by Monday.
 

Posted by Identity Theft Speaker in Identity Theft Prevention and tagged .

4 Responses to Thank You Ft. Lewis and McChord Military Bases

  1. Ricardo: December 5, 2008 at 1:16 am

    I can trully say that for the first time I’ve had a guest speaker in front of me talking and didnt feel the temptation to go to sleep, the seminar was great and very interesting I would really like to learn more to have the knowledge to prevent and be prepared for a situation like this wether it happened to me a friend or a family member. (NO HOGWASH).

  2. John: December 5, 2008 at 10:49 am

    Ricardo,

    Thank you so much for the compliment – it means a lot in my profession to have the audience feel like I made a difference. It was such a pleasure speaking with all of you yesterday. Start out with the steps I list in the military post and then get a copy of Stolen Lives if you want to continue protecting yourself and your family. Don’t forget to take the same steps for your spouse/partner before you deploy!

  3. John: December 5, 2008 at 10:51 am

    To answer another one of your questions, Ricardo:

    If I freeze my credit is there an indefinite time that I would have to unfreeze it or can I activate it at any moment I want?

    Good question. You can tell them to unfreeze it for a day, a week, or permanently. I usually unfreeze it for a week just in case there are any complications with the credit process. Then it automatically re-freezes.

    Happy Holidays.

    John

  4. alex farguson: April 12, 2009 at 10:07 pm

    Nice post. Thanks for sharing these tips.

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