Eglin AFB Stumps the Identity Theft Expert

Military Images I just finished delivering an identity theft speech for the Department of Defense to the Airmen and Women of Eglin Air Force Base in Ft. Walton, Florida. It is the highest honor for me to be able to serve the United States military, who so valiantly and humbly serve every American. Thank you Eglin AFB, and a special thanks to the person who asked me to clarify this question after the speech:

Is LifeLock identity theft monitoring service truly free to military personnel, or is it just for certain personnel?

I may be an identity theft expert, but I don’t automatically have all of the answers (at least the correct ones). I had heard several weeks ago on a different base that LifeLock offered this service to all members of the military. But following my own advice to verify my sources, I thought I had better research what I had heard before I officially passed it along.

As it turns out, LifeLock is not free to all military personnel. It is only free to deployed personnel in Afghanistan or Iraq while they are actually deployed. In addition, LifeLock offers the service free to members of the Air Force Sergeants Association.

To read more about LifeLock’s service as it pertains to the military, take a look at this USA Today article.

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: John Sileo’s 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.

For those of you who asked to purchase a copy of my book, Stolen Lives, you can do so at www.ThinkLikeASpy.com. Be sure you choose the Speaking Engagement Shipping option in your shopping cart as it will give you free shipping.

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

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.
How do I protect my kids? I recommend that you simply monitor your kid’s credit reports, much like you would your own. To learn how to get a free credit report for a child, read this excellent article from creditcards.com.
To add children to your identity monitoring service (such as CSIdentity) visit the Child Identity Monitoring Section on their website.

John Sileo
ID Theft Expert

Posted by Identity Theft Speaker John Sileo in Identity Theft Prevention and tagged Air Force, child identity monitoring, freezing your credit, id theft, identity theft expert, Identity Theft Speaker, Identity Theft Speech, John Sileo, LifeLock, Military Identity Theft, Sileo.