Thanks to Grand Forks AFB and the Department of Defense

I’d like to thank the Department of Defense and Grand Forks Air Force Base for bringing me in as the identity theft financial speaker for their Financial Readiness Challenge Campaign today in North Dakota.

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.

Here are answers to several additional questions that were asked after my speech:

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.
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.