Legal Service Sales Consultant

Learn about this career

Click on the Link Below 

 http://www.pplonlinetools.com/previews/?cid=195970&zenid=4447471d8c840fbf9f9190edd30a4875&vid=697

As a Legal Service Sales Consultant, you’ll have access to a wide array of company perks and benefits:

• Uncapped commissions
• Residual income you bring in for the life of the business
• Work from home comfort
• Performance-based Bonuses and Car Allowance
• Preferred Discounts
• Unmatched Flexibility
• Industry-leading Training

Description

For nearly 40 years, LegalShield has been offering direct access to legal consultation. For one low monthly fee, we offer members unlimited advice from our carefully selected provider law firms – a revolutionary service which transformed the scope and level of legal service in America!
As a Legal Service Sales Consultant for LegalShield, you can work from home, determining your own effort level and income as a full- or part-time associate! Selling unlimited legal advice for LegalShield has many other advantages, as well. You will receive uncapped commissions, performance-based bonuses and car allowance, and even preferred discounts. Legal Service Sales Consultants will also have dynamic training opportunities as well as endless resources and support at their disposal.
Work from home, offer consultative services and sell an excellent legal product at your own pace! Join us, and grow personally, professionally and financially in a position which suites your interests and lifestyle:

Group Sales (Work from Home):

Sell sound legal representation to businesses and corporations of all sizes. A college degree is beneficial but not required. If you have an interest in a sales-related opportunity and like speaking to groups of people, you can enjoy:

• The flexibility of a work from home career
• Setting your own hours
• Opportunities to collaborate with true decision makers
• Limited sales competition
• Uncapped commissions

Direct Sales (Work from Home):

Sell affordable, professional legal advice to individuals and small businesses. Build a team and leverage off of their success. This opportunity, perfect for salespeople with great communication skills and the desire to grow, will give you:

• A work from home career
• Flexible hours
• An unlimited earning potential
• Limited sales competition
• Uncapped commissions

Part-Time (Work from Home):

Work from home and sell our legal services on your own schedule! Supplement your income and still receive:

• The luxury of limited time commitment
• A schedule that allows you to meet your lifestyle needs
• Flexibility to work at your own pace
• Uncapped commissions

Requirements:

As a Legal Services Sales Consultant, you must be committed to an efficient and disciplined routine that works for you. In order to work from home successfully, you must be driven, confident and independent with a strong work ethic and the desire to succeed!

• Strong presentation and communication skills
• Proficient in MS Office product suite
• Previous sales experience is not required. Our industry-leading training will provide the tools needed to be successful.
• If you do have previous sales experience you're in an even better position to be successful with a growing company!
• Legal Shield career opportunities offer the "time-freedom" and "financial-freedom" while helping others access the legal system. You must have the ability to want to help others while also helping to supplement your income no matter what field your in.

Contact Richard Figley at the information below;

email: figleyr@legalshield.com
website: www.richardfigley.com

Medical Identity Theft

Guard Against Medical Identity Theft

by Diane Wedner on July 2, 2012 

What’s worse than facing a whopping medical bill? Facing a whopping medical bill that someone else racked up using your identity.
Each year about 2 million Americans are victims of medical identity theft. It costs individual victims about $22,000, according to the Third Annual National Study on Medical Theft.
The survey, conducted by the independent research company Ponemon Institute, revealed that the estimated total cost—to all involved—is about $41 billion yearly.
“A majority of people often don’t find out their medical identity has been stolen until they hear from a collection agency,” says Ken Chaplin, a senior vice president of marketing for Experian. “They find out they owe money to a medical provider and they’ve defaulted on the bill.”
Half of the respondents said they knew the person who stole their identity: caregivers, a child or a sibling who gained access from insurance information left on a desk or in a drawer.
Some respondents said they permitted family members to use their personal identification to get medical services, including treatment, health care products and medications.
“It’s pretty shocking, but something to be aware of,” Chaplin says. “Lock up your information and treat it like any valuable.”
Why so valuable? The survey reports that 20% of respondents said their medical records were accessed or modified. Altered medical records can result in patients getting the wrong treatment.
Also, victims pay out-of-pocket expenses to resolve the identity theft.
“The medical industry is different than the financial industry,” Chaplin says. “They often limit their exposure. So find out what you’re liable for if your medical identity is stolen. Some companies cap your liability, but others don’t.”
Survey respondents claimed that on average it took about one year to resolve the theft.
Here are some useful tips to avoid being a victim of medical identity theft:

• When the explanation of benefits arrive from your insurance company, read them over. Make sure that the services provided were those you actually got. If you see unfamiliar ones, “that’s a big red flag,” Chaplin says. “Call the insurance company immediately. The quicker you take action, the quicker you can cut it off.”
• Don’t share your insurance information with anyone, Chaplin says.
• Put your insurance card in a locked drawer at home, taking it out only on the day of a doctor visit. When a wallet is stolen, victims quickly cancel their credit cards, but forget their health insurance card is there too for the taking. Do leave home without it!
• Identity-theft-protection companies, such as Experian ProtectMyID, provide alerts when your identity is stolen and assist in resolving the claims.

Richard Figley

Independent Associate
614.395.2313
figleyr@legalshield.com
www.ProtectMyID.com

9 Alarming Statistics About Identity Theft

Posted by Rebecca Black on April 26, 2012

Identity theft is a serious problem worldwide. This crime flourishes when thieves are given access to your personal information, allowing them to commit crimes under your name or spend your money unbeknownst to you. You may be under the impression that identity theft could never happen to you. You may be careful with whom you give your Social Security number to, or diligent about changing up your passwords for the sake of safety. However, identity thieves are getting smarter about how they access your information. The statistics revolving around identity theft are disconcerting, but with a better understanding of how these crimes continue to be committed, we can help lower the rate of identity theft and prevent ourselves from becoming another statistic.

1. Odds Against You

   The United States Department of Justice states that in 2010, 7% of all United States households had at least one member of the family at or over the age of 12 who has been a victim of some sort of identity theft. That means the odds are greatly against you. Identity theft sets the government, American citizens, and businesses back by billions of dollars each year. From 2005 to 2010, 64.1% of these instances involved credit card fraud, the fastest growing type of identity theft. Over the range of this time period, credit card misuse was doubled as the determining factor in identity theft.

2. Grave Robbing

   According to Time Magazine, 2.5 million dead people get their identities stolen every year. Studies conducted by ID Analytics have shown that identity thieves have been applying for credit cards under the names of the deceased, opening up clean credit lines, new cell phone services, and in a staggering 1.6 million cases, using Social Security numbers previously belonging to dead people. This can be devastating for family members of the deceased who have been left to manage his or her estate. More than 2,000 identities of corpses per day are assumed by these fraudsters.

3. Social Media Fraud

   With a 13% increase in identity fraud between 2010 and 2011, a study conducted by Javelin Strategy & Research showed that consumers may be putting themselves at a higher risk for identity theft as a result of their increasingly intimate social media behaviors. Sixty-eight percent of people with public social media profiles on platforms such as Facebook or Twitter shared their birthday information with 45% of them getting into specifics about the exact month, day, and year. Sixty-three percent shared where exactly they attended high school. Eighteen percent shared their phone number and 12% shared their pet’s name. Not only are all of these details typically asked when verifying an identity, but people also frequently use them in passwords. The statistics are clear — people are giving away far too much personal information on social networking sites, allowing for fraudsters to easily steal their identities.

4. Medical Identity Theft

   According to the findings from a study conducted by the Federal Trade Commission, 19,428 complaints regarding medical identity theft have been reported to the Consumer Sentinel Database since January 1, 1992. Prior to that, medical-related identity theft was not documented, so there may have been many more instances of it that simply went unreported. Likewise, the number of medical identity theft victims rose from 1.6% in 2001 to 1.8% in 2005. Medical identity theft can be distressing to its victims, who often incur charges for medical care they didn’t even receive after their computerized medical records are stolen. A large chunk of these victims experienced raised premiums as a result of medical identity theft, with almost half losing coverage entirely. Medical identity theft is more of an insider crime, as it is typically done by a health care professional. It may be committed by doctors, nurses, lab technicians, and others associated with the hospital. Part of the reason that medical identity theft is made possible could be because almost half of seniors carry their Social Security card or Medicare card in their wallets, which is a risky place to keep such valuable information.

5. College Students at Risk

   The United States Department of Education encourages college-aged students to be particularly aware of identity theft. After they conducted a recent survey, the Department of Education found that 48% of the students that participated in the survey admitted to leaving personal information out in their dorm rooms, some of which was financial in nature. Thirty-one percent of these students were burglarized or knew someone in the building who was burglarized, which means that their personal information could have been compromised. Identity thieves look to college-aged adults because they often have good, clean credit scores, making them an ideal target. On college campuses, Social Security numbers are often used for identification purposes. For example, a student may use their social to register for classes. With such easy access to your Social Security number, an identity thief has all the information they need to commit their crime. Lastly, college students are not as attentive to their banking accounts and private information, which buys the identity thief valuable time with your funds at hand.

6. Misleading Trial Offers

   The Consumer Federation of America works with commercial providers of identity theft services to figure out ways to keep people safe from identity theft. According to a 2012 report it released examining ways these services could be bettered, customers most commonly complained about the service’s lack of addressing misleading trial offers. Free trials are everywhere, offering a week or months’ worth of Weight Watchers, Netflix, or Proactiv face wash. However, customers complained that the identity theft protection sites themselves were unclear as to the trial offer stipulations. The problematic part is that customers often forget to cancel these temporarily “free” subscriptions, or they don’t realize they need to cancel, and then charges begin to accrue in their accounts from a service they may not even use. Customers feel this may as well be on par with the stealing that occurs via identity theft. So, even sites that help protect against identity theft may be draining your funds via an unclear trial offer scheme.

7. Cost to Victims

   According to the Federal Trade Commission’s 2006 Report, while 50% of all identity fraud victims accrue little to no out-of-pocket charges for the legal fees, lost wages, and false payments brought upon them during the fraud, a small bracket of 10% of all identity theft victims incur considerable out-of-pocket expenses. This can be upwards of $1,200. This is most commonly the case when fraudsters use a false identity to open new accounts. The top percentile of these victims lost as many as $3,000, an unsettling amount to personally lose as a result of identity theft. Few things leave a person feeling more vulnerable and taken advantage of. Likewise, resolving identity theft crime isn’t easy. Ten percent of all victims spend 55 or more hours sorting out their problems, while the top 5% spend at least 130 hours.

8. Child Identity Theft

   Since children have perfectly clean backgrounds, no real credit score to speak of, and their parents don’t think to monitor the status of their identity, they make easy targets for identity theft. The main reasons fraudsters use child identities is to administer illegal immigration, steal, and wipe clean the credit scores of a loved one by utilizing that of a child in their place. Sadly, this can have negative effects on the child’s credit down the line, and they could have trouble securing student loans, getting a decent job, or even purchasing a cellphone. In a study conducted by Carnegie Melon’s CyLab, 10.2% of the children reported that someone else had used their Social Security number fraudulently. The worst of these accounts was toward a 16-year-old girl who had reported fraudulent charges of $725,000 under her name.

9. Police Notification

   According to the Consumer Sentinel Network’s 2011 report, 57% of identity theft victims notified a police department, resulting in a police report. Six percent notified a police department, but did not have a police report filed, and 7% notified the police but were unsure as to whether a report was filed. This leaves an alarming 30% of victims who didn’t bother to notify the police at all. In order to get ahold of the problem of identity theft, victims need to be proactive about stopping thieves with police intervention. Otherwise, the crime will perpetuate, as it is easy to get away with and can strongly benefit the thief.
   
   
   
   
   
   Richard Figley
   Independent Associate
   614.395.2313
   figleyr@legalshield.com
   www.richardfigley.com
   
   
   
    

Legal Requirments Relating to ID Theft

 

Businesses Must Provide Victims and Law Enforcement with Transaction Records Relating to Identity Theft

The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) spells out rights for victims of identity theft, as well as responsibilities for businesses. Identity theft victims are entitled to ask businesses for a copy of transaction records — such as applications for credit — relating to the theft of their identity.
Indeed, victims can authorize law enforcement officers to get the records or ask that the business send a copy of the records directly to a law enforcement officer. The businesses covered by the law must provide copies of these records, free of charge, within 30 days of receiving the request for them in writing. This means that the law enforcement officials who ask for these records in writing may get them from your business without a subpoena, as long as they have the victim’s authorization.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the nation’s consumer protection agency, enforces the FCRA including this requirement, which is known as Section 609(e). Here is some additional information to help your business comply with this provision of the law:
Q. Who must comply with Section 609(e) of the FCRA?
A. The law applies to a business that has provided credit, goods, or services to, accepted payment from, or otherwise entered into a transaction with someone who is believed to have fraudulently used another person’s identification. For example, if your business opened a cell phone account in the victim’s name or extended credit to someone misusing the victim’s identity, you may be required to provide the records relating to the transaction to the identity theft victim or the law enforcement officer acting on that victim’s behalf.
Q. What documents must my business provide?
A. Your business must provide applications and business transactions records, maintained either by your business or by another entity on your behalf, that support any transaction alleged to be a result of identity theft. Records like invoices, credit applications, or account statements may help victims document the fraudulent transaction and provide useful evidence about the identity thief.
Q. What are the procedures for requesting these materials?
A. Requests for documents must be submitted in writing. Your business may specify an address to receive these requests. You may ask the victim to provide relevant information, like the transaction date or account number, if they know it. You also can require that victims provide:
1. proof of identity, like a government-issued ID card, the same type of information the identity thief used to open the account, or the type of information you are currently requesting from applicants; and
2. a police report and completed affidavit. Victims can use the FTC’s ID Theft Affidavit, available at ftc.gov/idtheft, or another affidavit you accept.
Q. Is it ever appropriate not to provide documents?
A. You can refuse to provide the records if you determine in good faith that:

• you cannot verify the true identity of the person asking for the information;
• the request for the information is based on a misrepresentation; or
• the information requested is Internet navigational data or similar information about a person’s visit to a website or online service.

Your business may not deny disclosure of these records based on the financial privacy provisions of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (see Subtitle A of Title V of Public Law 106-102). Nevertheless, you may refuse to disclose them if state or another federal law prohibits you from doing so.
Q. Are there recordkeeping requirements of Section 609(e)?
A. Section 609(e) does not require any new recordkeeping procedures for your business.



Richard Figley
Independent Associate
614.395.2313

 www.ID-TheftProtection.com
 www.richardfigley.com

10 percent of children’s Social Security numbers are being used by someone else

 

 Protecting the Innocent: The Basics of Child Identity Theft

Written by Peter Schoenrock on March 26, 2012 in Credit  |   No comments

In our cyber-connected world, we’re increasingly at risk of data breaches, hackers, phishing scams, and all manner of identity theft. While many adults have learned to keep their Social Security number protected and to not give out personal information over the internet or phone, a new victim of identity theft and fraud is on the rise—our children.
Children are at risk because they have a clean slate. They have no credit history or debts, and that makes them an attractive target to identity thieves and scam artists. People are looking to rebuild their life with a fresh start, and a child’s clean credit report may provide them with that new (albeit fraudulent) beginning.
According to a report on Child Identity Theft from the Carnegie Mellon CyLab, over 10 percent of children’s Social Security numbers are being used by someone else, and children are 51 times more likely to be victims of identity theft than adults.
Some perpetrators of child identity theft are friends and family members looking to get around their own bad credit ratings. According to the CyLab report, other primary causes of identity theft can be traced to illegal immigration (to obtain false ID for employment) and organized crime and financial fraud.
Criminals will search for Social Security numbers and run checks to see if the numbers have been used to obtain credit. When they find an unused number, they’ve hit the jackpot. Such numbers—and other personal information—can then be sold for hundreds or even thousands of dollars.
Even if you think your child’s Social Security card is protected in your safety deposit box, you might be surprised at the activities that can place his or her personal identification at risk.
According to Marietta Jelks, consumer action handbook manager for the Office of Citizen Services and Innovative Technologies, children are online more, and they don’t understand the consequences of certain actions. “They’re giving out private information like their phone number or address, and [they] don’t think about the negative implications. They’re not reading privacy statements,” says Jelks.
You trust your children’s doctor’s office and school with their health and safety, but you don’t know what such agencies are doing with your family’s personal information. If you submit a form when you see the doctor or sign your child up for an extracurricular activity, you don’t know who is seeing the information and how it’s kept or destroyed. Jelks also says that parents are placing their children at greater risk when they carry around children’s Social Security cards without keeping track of the materials.
What kind of personal information could put your child at risk for identity theft?

• Social Security number
• Address and phone number (present and prior)
• Student ID number (often easily traced back to a Social Security number)
• Email address
• Medical ID number
• Health insurance ID number
• Bank account numbers

As your children become teenagers and may have jobs, bank accounts, and email addresses, educate them on the importance of protecting their personal information. While your children are growing up and finding their identity, help them out and make sure to protect their credit and financial identity.

Richard Figley
Independent Associate
614.395.2313
www.800-DO-A-WILL.com
www.ID-TheftProtection.com

Learn the Signs of Scams

By ELISABETH LEAMY (@elisabethleamy), ABC NEWS Consumer Correspondent
I have some con artists to thank for today’s column. Yes, you heard that right. This week’s topic arrived by mail—in the form of a classic come-on. My husband received a $3,850 check in the mail. It looked awfully official, complete with “security features” and bank account numbers. I’m going to dissect if for you, to show all the tip-offs to a rip-off. Here’s a picture of the “check.”:

(Image Credit: Elisabeth Leamy)

Your heart DOES do a little pitter pat at first, eyeballing a substantial sum like that. However, the accompanying letter gives the ploy away. The crooks have managed to roll two oldies but baddies into one: the foreign lottery scam and the check overpayment scam.
Click here for the letter.
The letter announces “Cash Prize Notification” and goes on to say, “…you are one of the winners in the “CONSUMER PROMOTIONS SWEEPSTAKES DRAWING.” Pretty thrilling, right? But here’s the clue: “…this draw was held in the United Kingdom.” It’s actually illegal for Americans to participate long-distance in foreign lotteries. Therefore, if you’re ever told you have won one (especially one you never entered!), it’s a scam. Period.
There’s another clue, too. The letter informs the recipient that the prize winnings will be delivered by a courier company. The bad guys try to avoid sending their correspondence by U.S. Mail, because they don’t want to be subject to U.S. mail fraud laws. I suspect that if my husband had fallen for this plot, future correspondence from the crooks would have, indeed, arrived via a private courier.
In a sick sort of way, you have to admire the crooks’ handiwork. They even managed to use postage that looks like it’s from a foreign country. Wow! It came via the “Royal Mail!” Actually, it’s quite possible the letter WAS sent from another country, because often con artists prey upon Americans from beyond our borders, knowing it’s very hard for US authorities to prosecute them. I took a picture of the postmark too:

(Image Credit: Elisabeth Leamy)

So how were the thieves going to profit? Let’s go back to the letter. The “company” has sent my hubby a check for $3,850 and says that’s to cover the “Tax Clearance Fee.” But here’s the trick. The tax clearance amount is NOT “$3,850. It’s $1,950! The company has overpaid my husband! Why? The crooks want their victims to deposit the $3,850 check in their accounts and forward them $1,950 of their own money. By the time the victims find out that the $3,850 check is bogus, their OWN money is long gone.
That, my friends, is the latest example of the “Check Overpayment Scam.” It comes in many forms. The classic is that if you are selling something, like a used car, a stranger may send you a check for more than the asking price and ask you to forward them the difference, while they arrange to have the car transported to them. The crooks have a million excuses for why they’ve sent too much money and why you need to forward them the difference. Never, ever do it. If a stranger overpays you by check, it’s a scam. Period.



Richard Figley
Independent Associate
figleyr@legalshield.com
www.800-DO-A-WILL.com
www.ID-TheftProtection.com.

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ID Theft Tax Fraud Hits 404,000 Americans

 

For Identity Theft Victims, Paying Taxes is a Nightmare

By Allison Linn

After Meghan Bach learned last year that her husband’s identity had been stolen to collect a fake tax refund, she spent perhaps 200 hours working to resolve the issue with the IRS and other agencies.
She thought she had been successful until the family returned home from a vacation this month to find that her husband’s identity had been stolen again.
 “It’s just appalling,” she said.
The IRS has acknowledged that identity theft tax fraud –- stealing someone’s Social Security number to file a fake tax return and collect a bogus refund –- is one of the most complex issues it deals with. Victims describe hours of phone calls, piles of correspondence and long periods of silence in which they aren’t sure whether their problems are being resolved or not.
The tedious process has left some victims worried about what will happen when they file this year’s tax returns.
“Of course I’m nervous,” said Dr. Vera Rosado, 33, who found out last year she was a victim and still has not been able to get it resolved with the IRS.
Rosado, a physician studying infectious diseases in Indianapolis, was recently told to file her fraud affidavit for a second time and her 2010 return for a third time after previous filings was lost. She said the IRS has told her it could take another few months to get the new paperwork processed.She is waiting to get an approximately $3,000 refund check from last year’s return, which she plans to use toward medical board exams.
The IRS estimates 404,000 people were victims of identity theft tax fraud from mid-2009 to the end of 2011, and officials say the problem is growing.
The agency recently set up a specialized unit to just to deal with identity theft tax fraud, and it is expanding its screening process aimed at flagging this type of fraud. The issue also has attracted the attention of the some U.S. Senators. On Tuesday, a finance subcommittee held a hearing on the matter.
The IRS said it could not comment on specific cases such as Rosado’s and Bach’s because of privacy laws.
Experts say the IRS is working hard to root out identity theft tax fraud in the approximately 140 million tax returns that come in each year. But some believe the problem will get worse before it gets better because it will take time to train staff members to root out and deal with such issues.
“For the next four to five years it’s going to be a learning curve for everybody across the country,” said Jay Foley, a partner with ID Theft Info Source.
Foley said one issue is that IRS employees who aren’t part of the identity theft unit may not know how to handle such complaints. That’s why they might audit tax forms instead of use them in an investigation, for example, or not file paperwork correctly.
He recommends that anyone who is a victim of such fraud work directly with the identity theft unit and also contact the Taxpayer Advocate, an independent agency charged with assistant taxpayers who are having problems.
Foley said the bad news is that there is little people can do to shield themselves from such fraud attempts.
“There’s absolutely nothing that can be done at this point in time that’s going to give you a guarantee of safety,” he said.
Bach, a real estate agent who lives in San Diego, found out her husband had been a victim of identity theft tax fraud in March 2011, when she tried to file their taxes and learned that someone had already filed a return using her husband’s name and Social Security number.
Over the next year, she said she spent several hours each week working with the IRS and other government agencies to get the fraud resolved on behalf of her husband, a military doctor.
At one point, she sent the IRS summaries of her past 10 years of tax returns in order to prove that she and her husband were the true taxpayers. Instead, she said, the IRS audited one of those returns and presented her with a bill for nearly $900.
She paid that bill, then successfully contested a later IRS attempt to audit another past return she had provided to prove her family’s identity.
Eleven months later, the family finally got its refund for the 2010 return and she figured the issue had been resolved. But a few weeks ago, they returned from a Disneyland vacation to find letters from the IRS that had been addressed to her husband had instead been sent to an address down the street that had recently been used as a rental. The mail had been returned to the post office and redelivered to Bach.
One letter, sent to the other address, was informing the family that they had once again been victims of tax fraud for the 2011 tax year. The second letter said that a refund of more than $10,000 was being applied to an existing balance of more than $12,000 that the letter said the family owed the IRS.
Bach said the family had not yet filed their 2011 taxes and was not scheduled to receive a $10,000 refund for the year. They also did not owe the IRS any money – in fact, after their fraud had been resolved, she said the IRS had sent them a refund for 2010 with interest.
Bach surmises that the fraud might have occurred at the address where the IRS correspondence was sent. She doesn’t know if the IRS sent any other correspondence to that address.
Bach and her husband immediately went to the local IRS office to get the address issue corrected. In addition, she said she has left multiple messages with the IRS identity theft case manager she has been working with but has not heard back. She plans to file her real 2011 tax return this week.
Bailey Yahraus, 30, found out four years ago that her husband and young children’s Social Security numbers had been used to file a fraudulent return. The couple got it resolved, and for the next couple years they used a tax filing service to file their returns with no problems.
This year, Yahraus decided to file her return herself using an online tax service. That’s when she found out that her children’s Social Security numbers had already been used by someone else claiming them as dependents.
Yahraus, who lives in Montpelier, Ohio, has been trying to figure out how she can keep the Social Security numbers from being used fraudulently again. She’s worried about what effect the ID theft might have on her kids when they become adults.
But after a rough few years in which both she and her husband lost their jobs and got new ones, she hopes to shield them for now.
“They’re 8- and 9-year-old boys,” she said. “They’re worried about baseball, basketball (and) football.”



Richard Figley
Independent Associate
figleyr@legalshield.com

 614-395-2313
www.800-DO-A-WILL.com
www.ID-TheftProtection.com

Judges Officially Combine Breach Class-Action Suits

Ruling puts together 11 lawsuits over incident

Friday, March 02, 2012

A total of 11 different class-action lawsuits filed against a healthcare company over a data breach in California last fall have now been combined into one case.

The suits, filed against Sutter Health, stem from a data breach in which a computer containing the personal data for 4.24 million people was stolen from an office late last year, according to a report from the Sacramento Business Journal. In all, eight of the combined cases were originally filed in Sacramento County, with the others coming from San Francisco, Los Angeles, and even White Plains, New York.

Estimates for the liability, damages and attorneys' fees associated with the case range considerably, but are sizable, the report said. Some say it could add up to anywhere between $944 million to $4.25 billion, not counting court costs. Information exposed in the breach included at least the names, addresses, dates of birth, phone numbers, emails, medical record numbers and health insurance providers for all involved.

Richard Figley
Independent Associate
figleyr@legalshield.com

614-395-2313
www.800-DO-A-WILL.com

Health Care & Data Breaches

Healthcare industry CIOs, CSOs must improve security

By Thor Olavsrud, CIO |  Security, health IT Add a new comment

March 06, 2012, 9:39 AM — Protected health information (PHI) data breaches are growing in frequency and magnitude as the healthcare industry moves to adopt electronic health records (EHR), say a group of standards and security organizations. The healthcare industry must take action to better defend PHI if it wants to keep the public's trust, they say.
The Identity Theft Prevention and Identity Management Standards Panel (IDSP) of the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), in partnership with The Santa Fe Group/Shared Assessments Program Healthcare Working Group and the Internet Security Alliance (ISA), on Monday unveiled a report, The Financial Impact of Breached Protected Health Information: A Business Case for Enhanced PHI Security, at a press conference kicked off by White House Cybersecurity Coordinator Howard A. Schmidt. The report is intended to help CIOs, CSOs and IT security, privacy and compliance staff create a compelling business case for enhanced security to present to business executives.
"When it comes to cybersecurity, we all have a role whether we're a consumer, the executive of a company or a political leader," Schmidt says. "By working together, we can make sure we make the improvements that ensure the balance between privacy rights and security. While we can't solve all the problems in the world when it comes to cybersecurity and privacy, we can affect those parts we're responsible for."
Privacy Protections Critical to Trust
Joe Bhatia, president and CEO of ANSI, added, "Privacy protections are absolutely critical to maintaining consumer trust in this information age. In the U.S., the healthcare delivery system is founded upon trust. This trust, as we all know, is now being severely tested."
According to the 67-page report, which involved a cross-section of more than 100 healthcare industry leaders from more than 70 organizations, nearly 39.5 million EHRs were breached between 2005 and 2008. In addition, within the past two years, the health information privacy of nearly 18 million Americans-a number roughly comparable to the population of the state of Florida-was breached electronically.
The data points don't end there. Between September 2011 and November 2011, a government benefits program suffered the theft of EHRs of 4.9 million military personnel, the health information of 4 million patients of a reputable West Coast healthcare system were stolen electronically and a major academic medical center inadvertently disclosed the EHRs of 20,000 of its patients. In November of last year, Ponemon Institute completed a survey of 72 provider organizations and found that 96% of respondents reported at least one data breach in the past 24 months. On average, Ponemon Institute found that health organizations have experienced four data breach incidents over the past two years.
"Healthcare is one of the most-breached industries," says Dr. Larry Ponemon, chairman and founder of Ponemon Institute. "Healthcare providers and supporting organizations don't currently have sufficient security and privacy budgets, including adequate processes and resources, to protect sensitive patient data."
"The entire healthcare delivery system depends upon a single transaction: your willingness to share the most intimate details of your personal information with your physician," adds James C. Pyles, panel member and principal with Powers Pyles Sutter & Verville PC. "You have to trust that the information won't be used to harm you or your children. If you're dealing in this business of handling health information electronically or any information electronically, you're touching on a very tender nerve that people have."
Pyles added, "It's more than breaches, it's also understanding, as a business, the expectations of your customers. If you frustrate those expectations, I promise you, you will be sued."
Part of the problem, says Catherine Allen, chairman and CEO of The Santa Fe Group, is that the financial incentives are on the side of those who seek to steal medical records. Allen said medical records go for $50 a record on the underground market, making them much more lucrative than even financial information. "It's very valuable data," she says.
Evaluating the Cost of Data Breaches
The new report is intended to be a tool to help organizations quantify overall potential data breach costs and to provide a methodology for determining an appropriate level of investment needed to strengthen privacy and security programs and reduce the probability of a breach.


"No organization can afford to ignore the potential consequences of a data breach," says Rick Kam, president and co-founder of ID Experts and chair of the PHI Project. "We assembled this working group to drive a meaningful dialogue on appropriate levels of investment to better protect healthcare organizations and PHI."
He added, "One of the things that we realized as we started to work through this process is that the chief information officer, the chief security officer, they're essentially getting outgunned by the criminals. It's not that we don't have the technology or processes or people to deal with this problem. It's that we don't have enough focus and investment from the executives."
The report provides a five-step method, the PHI Value Estimator (PHIve), for estimating breach costs and what needs to be done to protect organizations. The PHIve provides detailed information about each of the steps, which include: conducting a risk assessment, determining your security readiness score, assessing the relevance of a cost, determining the impact and calculating the total cost of a breach.
"Cybersecurity is not an IT issue," says Larry Clinton, president and CEO of the Internet Security Alliance. "It is an enterprise-wide risk management issue that needs to be addressed in a much broader sense."
Thor Olavsrud is a senior writer for CIO.com. Follow him @ThorOlavsrud.

Identity Theft Shield

Richard Figley

 614-395-2313
www.800-DO-A-WILL.com

Business Identity Theft

You wouldn’t know it from reading the news, but business identity theft is becoming an increasingly large concern for small business owners, according to a report filed by NPR’s Yuki Noguchi today on Morning Edition.
Noguchi tells the story of Scott Burnett and the Memphis-based company he and his family have operated for the last 40 years or so, AAA Termite & Pest Control. Burnett claims that when he opened the Yellow Pages last year, he was dismayed to see that there were three “me-too” listings affiliated with his business.
None of those numbers were actually affiliated with Burnett’s businesses. When he looked up their addresses they either pointed to vacant lots or gas stations. When Burnett called the numbers and asked to speak with a manager, the person on the phone hung up.

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So, Burnett hired a lawyer, but the phone company reportedly refused to divulge any information about who was behind the fraudulent listings. He then called the National Pest Management Association, but they didn’t know what he should do. Apparently the only person Burnett could find that knew anything about business identity theft was a local locksmith who was also the victim of business identity theft. This is the problem: business identity theft, despite the fact that it could be quite commonplace, is so obscure that no one knows what to do about it.
Colombia University’s Hugh Thompson (also affiliated with the RSA Conference), however, does know about business identity theft and he says it is severely under-reported. Among the reasons this sort of identity theft flies under the radar, Thompson claims, are the facts that there are no federal or states stats or tracking of the problem and, as is the case with data breaches, companies don’t want to report for fear of besmirching their brand.
Things may be turning around though. North Carolina secretary of state and chair of the National Association of Secretaries of State, Elaine Marshall, says the number cases like these involving falsified documents in her state is increasing.
The sophistication of many instances of business identity theft has led Thompson to suspect that organized criminal syndicates may be responsible for these scams.
AAA isn’t alone. In fact, Noguchi claims that 103 phony pest control businesses popped up last year.
It is unclear whether these are pure scammers, masquerading as legitimate companies to steal credit card information from consumers or if they themselves are offering a service and are merely piggybacking on the success of already established businesses. The fake-businesses could even be attempting to steal the identity of the legit ones in the way cybercriminals steal an individual’s identification. It appears as if no one really knows.

For individual and spouse Identity Theft Shield go HERE.

Richard Figley
Independent Associate
614-395-2313

February 29, 2012



Everyone deserves legal protection. (membership runs from $16 to $25.90 per employee per month)
Now, with LegalShield, everyone can access it.
With LegalShield, everyone can have access to legal protection – no matter how trivial, no matter how traumatic. Whatever situations your employees are facing, we are here to help. From real estate to divorce advice, identity theft and beyond, we have their rights covered. Welcome to total peace of mind.
Welcome to LegalShield.
The Bottom Line…
Reduce absenteeism. One in three employees took time off work (an average of 13 days) for a legal problem in the last year (Russell Research, April 2007), while 70% of those enrolled in a group legal plan did not take any vacation days toward resolving their legal issues, compared to half of those who hired their own lawyer (Harris Interactive, 2011).
Increase productivity. Workers enrolled in a legal plan spent 25% less time resolving their legal matters compared to those who hired a lawyer on their own (4.4 weeks vs. 6.1 weeks on average, Harris Interactive, 2011).
Help reduce your employee’s stress. Allow our services to help them with everyday life challenges. When employees are stressed from legal or identity theft issues, their health suffers and medical claims may go up.
Keep a progressive company image. Show that you care about your employees.
An Industry Leader
• No other legal plan offers 24/7 access to a lawyer in covered emergency situations.
• No other legal plan offers our exclusive Provider Law Firm delivery system. An employee dials directly to their province’s Provider Law firm. A Lawyer, not a paralegal, returns the call to the employee or covered family member within 8 business hours. State of the art quality control measures are in place to ensure quality service is delivered.
• Our Identity Theft Shield plan provides both Credit Monitoring and Full Restoration Services through licensed investigators at Kroll (the world leader in risk management).
• Our network of independent sales associates is extensive and readily available for employee presentations, on-site workshops, lunch-and-learn presentations, etc.
• Currently servicing 34,000 accounts across North America.
• Our members have access to more than 10,000 network lawyers and 50 Provider Law Firms.
• Offering legal plans since 1972, currently providing services to 1.4 million households which represent approximately 4 million members. 

Richard Figley
Independent Associate
614-395-2313
www.800-DO-A-WILL.com

140,000 Identity Theft Frauds against Children each year

February 27, 2012


Would it surprise you to know that almost every child born is a potential victim of identity theft? A Chicago Tribune article in January reported “there are 140,000 identity frauds committed against children per year in the United States.” While it’s not something for parents to obsess about, there are steps you can take to prevent identity theft from happening to your child.

Protect that social security number

Last year, the Social Security Administration began issuing random social security numbers, however, anyone born before that most likely has a sequential number based on their geographic location. Most identity thieves have caught on to taking the social security numbers of children and using them to access multiple lines of credit because no one checks a child’s credit report. In fact, it’s difficult to access a report based solely on a social security number.
While you can check a credit report for free each year, there are other things that can tip you off to a potential breach in identity: receiving credit offers in your child’s name, receiving documents pertaining to jobs your child has never had, or being denied credit due to poor credit history.

Why worry about identity theft?

When your child is 6 or 7 years old (or younger!) you may not even be thinking about credit opportunities or loan issues. But many families will find themselves relying on financial aid for college after their children graduate from high school. If a parent can take the time earlier on to check for any red flags or indications of identity theft when their child is still high school, they will have given themselves the time to correct anything that’s incorrect. A clear credit report will make securing college monies much easier down the line.
While identity theft of children isn’t an epidemic, more and more children are creating online identities earlier and younger. Gaming, school requirements, and the prevalence of tablets and smart phones make capturing an unsuspecting child’s identity possible. Taking a few steps and being vigilant with your child’s information can save you worry and trouble in the long run.


Richard Figley
Independent Associate
614-395-2313
Obtain ID Theft Restoration HERE

What We Do

We give members access to professional legal counsel not only for traditional legal problems, but for everyday events such as buying a house or a car, creating a will, handling a problem with an insurance company, dealing with identity theft, and much more where legal review should be routine, but rarely is. These events can be among the most important events in a person's life, yet there is a tendency for them to take place without proper legal review. For LegalShieldd® members, access to legal counsel is only a toll-free phone call away.

LegalShield® was one of the first companies in the United States organized solely to design, underwrite and market legal expense plans. For a low monthly fee of $26 or less, the Company's legal expense plans (referred to as memberships) offer a variety of legal services in a manner similar to medical reimbursement plans or HMOs.

The Company currently provides legal services to over 1.4 million families across the U.S. and Canada. Plan benefits are delivered through a network of independent provider law firms. Members have direct, toll-free access to their provider law firm rather than having to comb through a yellow-page style directory for a referral. Provider firms are carefully selected and the quality of service is closely monitored to maintain the high standards of LegalShield® .

Additional Information

Our members are served by a provider law firm which has been carefully screened and selected by LegalShield®. Using the plan, members simply call their provider firm directly at the toll-free number on their membership card when they have a legal question or problem. It’s really that simple. LegalShield® does all the work; no searching for a qualified lawyer, no claim forms, no worries about being able to afford a lawyer – just peace of mind.

Plans for Employers (Employee Benefit Program) go HERE

Plans for Individuals and Families go HERE

Plan for Identity Theft go HERE

Richard Figley
Independent Associate
614.395.2313
www.800-DO-A-WILL.com

ID Theft Now a Professional Business

 

Sending A Better Message About Identity Theft Protection

By Denise Richardson on February 15, 2012 7:18 PM

In today's precarious world, where cyber-crime is rampant and identity theft is a growing problem, you may want to think twice before following any advice that you get regarding how to protect your financial well being. Your identity is your most important possession. Don't get fooled into letting your guard down for even one moment.  I'm worried that if those who write about identity theft in a manner that minimizes its effects or in a way that doesn't take identity theft seriously, then the public won't take it seriously either.  And that's a recipe for disaster.   

According to Consumers Union, a nonprofit organization designed to empower consumers with the ability to protect themselves, ID protection services aren't necessary to keep your credit cards and checking accounts safe from thieves. Much more useful solutions are available today that just a few years ago were not. But nobody is talking about them. Instead, some people continue to push the "do it yourself" route --whether we want to or not.

Making a blanket statement that identity theft services aren't worth their nominal annual cost is similar to declaring that consumers shouldn't buy -and shouldn't want to buy- the latest and greatest iPhone, or Kindle, or even that new car. This might seem like a stretch at first, but think about it; the value of these objects lies not in their cost but in the consumers' perception of them.  Instead of buying an iPhone I could buy a $20 cell phone and still make calls with it; for $50 I could buy a generic smartphone that would give me a few more advanced features. The thing is: It's up to me to decide what I find important and what I view as a value to me. 

In a nutshell; if I want a phone, Consumer Reports heartily recommends that I do the research and pick the one that will serve me the best. They provide useful reports and key info on various products on the market today.  Why not say the same about identity theft protection? I can't help but think it would be far more helpful if Consumer Reports would provide comparisons and evaluations of existing identity theft protection services rather than simply saying ---they aren't worth it. That way, consumers receive the benefit of Consumers Union's opinion as to which services can protect them from credit related fraud and/or identity theft based upon what these services offer.

Unless you've been a victim of identity theft or personally witnessed the havoc that it can create for someone you know, you really may not understand the value of signing up for identity theft protection. Today's thieves are savvy. They aren't just looking to tap into credit cards and steal money out of bank accounts. If they manage to get your social security number, then they may also want to use your identity to sign up for Medicare, Food Stamps, Social Security, or unemployment insurance. Once they steal your identity, these thieves can hi-jack tax returns, buy cars, homes, and more. They can commit crimes, and if they get caught, you are the one whose name goes on the police report. You are the one who gets arrested when you don't show up in court.

A Detroit woman, Vontara Colbert-Redmond, knows first hand just how devastating identity theft can be. In 2007, a thief took her purse, emptied her bank accounts, obtained a driver's license in her name, and got it suspended. Vontara lost her ability to drive to work, lost her job, and lost the freedom to live the "American dream" because someone else had stolen it from her.

Mashara Williams, who also became a victim of identity theft, fully understands how it can follow you around years after you thought that it had been resolved. Three years after her identity was first stolen, Mashara ended up in jail for a failure-to-appear charge aimed at the identity thief. Her nightmare began all over again. Would identity theft protection have prevented this from happening? Quite possibly. After all, Mashara may have been alerted to fraudulent use of her personal information early on in this scenario.

Consumers Union uses statistics to back up their assertion that id theft crime rates have declined, while completely ignoring other information.  They say that identity theft is on the decline, but neglect to point out that the average amount of out-of-pocket expenses related to identity theft has risen significantly over the last few years. They also ignore the fact that ID theft has been shifting to new targets, and that the IRS is literally overwhelmed at the moment with complaints about stolen tax returns.  The FTC released a notice recently stating that identity theft complaints have risen by a full 50% just since tax season started.  ID theft has become a professional business. It continues to truly baffle me why it is that Consumer Reports continues to downplay identity theft and sends a message to consumers that essentially says; don't worry about fraud.   

While an identity theft protection service might not have made sense 5 or so years ago, times have changed drastically, and it makes perfect sense today.  Without it, you cannot do anything. You cannot purchase a home or a car, get a job, apply for retirement benefits, open a bank account, or get a credit card. Your identity is critical to your ability to achieve your dream of living a good life.

As a consumer, don't get caught up in the belief systems of people who don't consider identity theft insurance/protection as being necessary. That's the wrong message. I have been an outspoken proponent of the identity theft protection industry and those who have focused on making consumer protection and fraud prevention education a top priority. I continue to hope that one day, identity theft protection professionals, whether competitors or not, and  consumer protection groups will all see the value in working together to find solutions and not against those who are trying to.  If id theft crime rates have dipped --it's most likely due to the very advances the identity theft protection industry has made. It's unlikely that criminals have lost interest in identity theft --or will anytime soon.

Richard Figley
Independent Associate
614-395-2313
www.800-DO-A-WILL.com

Healthcare Fraud....A $234 Billion a year problem

 

A glimpse inside the $234 billion world of medical ID theft

February 08, 2012 | Rick Kam, President and CEO, ID Experts and Christine Arevalo, director of healthcare identity management, ID Experts

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Healthcare fraud is costing American taxpayers up to $234 billion annually, based on estimates from the FBI. It’s no wonder that a stolen medical identity has a $50 street value, according to the World Privacy Forum – whereas a stolen social security number, on the other hand, only sells for $1.
One form of healthcare fraud, known as medical identity theft, has its own staggering statistics: 1.42 million Americans were victims of medical identity theft in 2010, according to a 2011 study on patient data privacy and security by the Ponemon Institute. The report estimates the annual economic impact of medical identity theft to be $30.9 billion.
[See also: How politics distort Americans' perception of health reform.]
Medical identity theft occurs when a person uses someone else’s medical record to obtain medical goods or services or to bill for medical goods and services that the patient did not receive. Thieves will also use a person’s social security number to obtain medical services or health insurance.
The harm medical identity theft causes patients
With its serious health risks, medical identity theft is far more dangerous than the more well-known consumer or financial identity theft. When a victim’s records are merged with a thief using the same identity, for instance, that record becomes “polluted,” and the victim may be denied treatment or be misdiagnosed based on this inaccurate information. In addition, patients may be denied life insurance or billed for services not rendered. A few real-world examples illustrate the dangers:

• In Oregon, a pregnant woman delivered a baby addicted to crack using another woman’s social security number—and then abandoned the baby. Police arrested the victim and put her children into protective custody.
• A hospital’s billing department notified a pregnant woman in Washington that someone had used her social security number to be treated for a crack overdose at the ER of the same facility where she was about to deliver her baby.
• A patient in Texas used a California man’s medical identity to obtain radiation treatment and other care. When the thief’s records and the patient’s records merge, healthcare providers will think the patient has a condition he doesn’t have.
• One woman used her sister’s medical ID to receive treatment for a serious sports injury. When chronic problems arose, she was denied coverage for further treatment because there was no record of her initial treatment.
• Another woman couldn’t get physical therapy following neck surgery because a Miami clinic that she had never visited claimed her insurance benefits had been maxed out.
• A teenager was denied the opportunity to give blood because the Red Cross flagged her social security number as belonging to a person who had tested positive for HIV. Another person had used her social security number at a free AIDS clinic in another state, and the clinic did not ask for physical copies of identification.

Data breaches — A major source of medical I.D. theft
Whether caused by theft, loss, human error, or hacking, data breaches put patient data at risk for medical identity theft. The number of healthcare data breaches has risen dramatically, increasing the likelihood for medical identity theft; in 2011, more than 18 million patients were listed on the HHS’ “Wall of Shame” as having their protected health information (PHI) breached. Tighter privacy laws, increased scrutiny from the HHS’ Office for Civil Rights (OCR), and the potential for costly fines make medical identity theft a problem for all healthcare organizations.
[Q&A: How a health 'data spill' could be more damaging than what BP did to the Gulf.]
Three tips for protecting patient data 
Preparation is the best defense for mitigating the chances of a data breach and the costly consequences of medical identity theft. To start preparing now, we recommend that healthcare organizations:

1. Take an inventory of PHI/PII. An inventory provides a complete accounting of every element of personally identifiable information (PII) and PHI that an organization holds, in either paper or electronic format. It helps determine how an organization collects, uses, stores and disposes of its PHI. By revealing the risks for a data breach, a PHI inventory helps an organization protect PHI data and best plan for a response based on real information.
2. Develop an Incident Response Plan (IRP). An IRP is an effective, cost-efficient means for helping organizations meet HIPAA and HITECH requirements and develop guidelines related to data breach incidents. The IRP designates roles and provides guidelines for the response team's responsibilities and actions.
3. Review contracts and agreements with business associates. Business associates are a growing cause of data breaches. These contracts authorize and define business associates' use of the PHI they share with healthcare providers. Keeping these contracts up-to-date demonstrates compliance to regulators and helps maintain consistency in how PHI is managed in a healthcare ecosystem.

With its combined financial and health risks, medical identity theft has greater consequences for victims than more traditional forms of identity theft. Healthcare organizations, therefore, have a greater obligation to step up their privacy and security efforts to safeguard their patients’ health information. Protecting a patient’s physical – and financial – well being is, after all, the best form of caring.

Rick Kam, CIPP, is president and co-founder of ID Experts. Rick is also chairing the “PHI Project,” a seminal research effort to measure financial risk and implications of data breach in healthcare, led by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), via its Identity Theft Prevention and Identity Management Standards Panel (IDSP), in partnership with the Shared Assessments Program and the Internet Security Alliance (ISA).
Christine Arevalo is director of healthcare identity management and a founding employee of ID Experts. She has experience managing risk assessments, complex crisis communication strategies, and data breach response for healthcare organizations.


Richard Figley
Independent Associate

www.800-DO-A-WILL.com