We all hope we never become victims of false identity theft. For one thing, you usually don’t learn you’re a victim until some debt collector calls you about a bill or a loan application is denied because of your poor credit history or low credit score. This news comes as a shocking surprise to most victims of false identity theft, and the personal agony of financial loss and effort needed to resolve the problem take a huge toll.False identity theft victims often report they feel as violated as they would if they had been mugged or their house had been burglarized.

Prevention and early detection are best solutions to the false identity theft problem. These criminals have a variety of ways to get your personal financial information. They may steal it from your garbage in the form of old bills or pre-approved credit offers. They may trick you on the phone or by e-mail into giving out your personal information. Someone you know and trust may have access to your personal information. Or perhaps someone with good eyesight is standing behind you, watching you enter your PIN at the ATM machine or grocery counter. These things are within your control, but there are other tactics outside your control. False identity thieves also trick the information out of banks and businesses, claiming they are doing research for a non-existent company or using false identities to secure the information. Hackers may sneak into the databases of large companies and download the information they keep for their clientle.Once they have your personal information, they can submit false address change reports to your bank or creditors. They can apply for mortgages or loans or make purchases against your credit cards. You won’t know about it until the *#(& hits the fan, and your credit history is ruined.

1. How Can I Tell if Someone is using my Personal Financial Information Illegally?

So how do you know that a false identity thief may be targeting your personal information? What are the signs to look for? And what do you do if you think you are a victim of false identity theft? Here are a few of the things you can watch for to protect your personal financial information and your identity:

1. Order a credit report, at the very least, once a year. If a close review of your credit report reveals accounts you’ve never heard of or loans you did not make, you may be a victim of false identity theft. The report could also contain inquiries about your credit from merchants and vendors you didn’t apply to. These are all important red flags, and you should follow-up on the information immediately.

2. You receive a bill or statement from a company you didn’t open an account with.

3. You notice unauthorized or incorrect changes on your credit card or bank statement.

4. You get calls from business owners or debt collectors who claim you have a bill that is overdue for a product or service you never ordered or received.

5. You are denied approval of a loan or credit card application, even when you know your credit is good.

If you’ve noticed any of these warning signs, follow up immediately by contacting the credit card company, bank, or credit report agency with questions. Don’t accept inadequate answers to your questions. And continue to follow-up until all your questions have been answered and your credit account or report is accurate and up-to-date.

If you find you can’t resolve issues easily, you may be a false identity theft victim already. Report this problem to law enforcement authorities immediately. Contact your bank, your creditors, and the credit report agencies to let them know the problem is occurring and ask them to freeze your accounts. Add special passwords that anyone inquiring about our using your accounts must know to get a transaction approved. Do what you can to find out what the false identity thief has done. For example, where have they opened accounts or where have the applied for loans. Can you find another address associated with your name that is not familiar to you? If you identify the false identity thief, do not contact them directly. Rather provide that information to law enforcement.

2. What Can I do to Prevent False Identity Theft Before it Happens?

To avoid becoming a victim of false identity theft, follow these guidelines:

1. Keep a very close eye on your credit card activities. Check statements closely as soon as you receive them, and confirm that you made or approved all of the purchases. If there are questionable charges on your statement, contact the company immediately to find out when and where the purchase was made and to formally dispute the charge. You might be surprised to know how many people fail to review their statements carefully each month. Failure to attend to your accounts could leave you thousands, even hundreds of thousands, in debt with no products or services to show for it.

2. Request credit report updates at least twice a year. Look for a lower-than-expected credit score, unfamiliar accounts, or credit inquries from companies you don’t do business with.

3. Be careful to protect your personal financial papers. Keep them in a secure location, preferably under lock and key. And don’t allow other people to access them without your express permission.

4. Be alert when you’re writing checks or using your ATM card. Is there anyone near enough who could read and steal personal information or your PIN number? Becareful to protect these items from view.

5. Deliver your bill payments directly to the post office, and don’t let your mail sit in your mail box too long. This is an open invitation to the ever-vigilant false identity thief.

6. Use unexpected and unique passwords on all your internet accouts, mixing letters with numbers and symbols. And change your passwords at least every six months.

Keep up on the news about new false identity theft strategies and scams. Read the paper and surf the internet to find out who’s doing what these days. Make sure you know what your creditors do with their customers’ personal information and demand they protect it.Avoid becoming a victim of false identity theft by applying common sense and careful thought to your everyday transactions. Question people who ask for inappropriate information and feel empowered to refuse to answer. Remember that you may not know your co-workers and acquaintances very well. Do not share your information with anyone you don’t trust 100%.

How to fix a cheating man or a cheating woman.

Numb and blank? Did you just discover your partner’s been cheating on you?

Do you have a zillion questions shooting through your head? Here is the harsh truth behind her behavior. We hope its starts a positive dialog between you two.

“Women Don’t Cheat! Or Do They?”

You are not alone – a lot of people share this misconception of the fairer sex. But fact is, evolutionarily, women are programmed to desire multiple partners purely for the benefit of the species – to increase genetic diversity!

In fact, polygamy and communal sexual activities were once the hallmarks of tribal societies. It’s almost as if Mother Nature intended her girls to have multiple partners but civilization fixed that.

So all, who imagine cheating as a male prerogative, rethink that theory and know – it was not your fault she cheated. She cheated because as an individual, she needed to.

“She Betrayed Me?”

Women cheat like men do, and often for similar reasons – feel-good factor, sex, control, power! They just go about it a bit differently.

Their response to, and expectations from the affair also differ from those of men. Men are easily aroused with mere visual stimuli and can have unemotional sexual experiences. With women, sex is a more intense and emotive experience. Not all women are able to have an impulsive affair.

If your partner cheated on you, and you know she isn’t the promiscuous type, then you should know she did it for a reason.

“I Failed Her!”

Men can get so caught up with their chief role in life- work; that they forget they share space with another person who needs them more than just as breadwinner.

So when was the last time you thanked her for dinner or bought her a useless trinket or took her on a vacation? When a woman doesn’t get the right signs from her partner, she automatically begins to wonder and then, wander.

You were supposed to give her something basic that you have probably failed to deliver. So she failed you. It’s a two way thing. But, stop guilt tripping. She took the extreme step, not you – no matter how you failed her. But you must also stop hating her, because you drove her to this extreme.

“What Next?”

Remember one fact – affairs are a sign of a relationship in danger but they do not spell the end. Especially when there are kids involved.

As the wronged partner, you can choose to learn from this error or, you can draw the line and move on, without ever knowing who to blame for the end of a relationship. But try to remember, failed relationships are not a one-way problem.

Women don’t just have affairs – they do it for a reason – for profit, for excitement, for revenge, for lust or because something is lacking in the relationship they are in. So talk to her and see if there is room for forgiveness and improvement.