If you answered “yes,” you’re certainly not alone; just about everyone in the United States – and, indeed, the entire world – is feeling the pinch. Credit is tight, the housing market limping, the job market stagnant. Monitoring the headlines and news crawls only seem to occasion new frustrations. The identity of the perpetators are at this point well established; the details of their doings highly publicized. You can’t help thinking that a few well-heeled, well-connected Wall-Street types managed to get away with massive fraud, if not outright theft. Your frustration is compounded by the apparent reluctance of governmental regulatory institutions to offer ordinary citizens any protection.

Suppose for a moment that the government did decide to offer protection. What form would it take? Theft left unpunished only encourages future fraud, which makes the matter of establishing the identity of any possible perpetrator a purely academic exercise. The zeal with which governmental and law enforcement officials pursue surveillence and monitoring technology suggests that they are out front in terms of combating such malfeasance (and, to their credit, they have come up with some pretty awesome toys). But you’re left wondering at whom their directing this technology. Recalling the recent events of the Occupy movement, you conclude that they’re surely not deployed against any criminals who happen to be wearing white collars.

Yet these white-collar crooks are precisely those who are most in need of monitoring. Rob someone by pointing a gun at her, and you’ll go to prison for a long, long time. Rob someone by extending her easy credit, however, and you’ll not only escape justice, you’ll make quite a lucrative getaway. We’ve all seen in the movies and on television the identity of the first sort of criminal positively established in a lineup, often by a witness under police protection. But when was the last time you saw an Armani suit on a culprit in those lineups? It’s safe to say, never. Illegal activity such as theft seems to have a characteristic fashion, and a sharply tailored three-piece is definitely not part of the ensemble. All the glamour is in fraud – the best clothiers, haberdashers, as well as the best food and drink.

Behind all the apparent glamour lies the hard truth that credit and fraud go hand in hand. This doesn’t necessarily have to be the case, though; effective monitoring of your financial and business affairs offers tremendously effective, and relatively easily secured, protection. The sad fact is that, as long as you continue to engage in social activity, you run the risk of at some point falling victim to theft. And these days crime of this sort is often computer-enabled, which means that you could be taken for hundreds, even thousands, of dollars by someone whose identity you’ll never ascertain.

There exist two extremely effective safeguards against this technologically enhanced form of fraud: identity theft protection and credit monitoring. Services like these go a great way toward alleviating the anxieties and uncertainties that attend modern life. It’s to your credit that you’re interested in monitoring your affairs so as to banish from it fraud and theft in all of their various guises. Not to get to philosophical about it, but identity is the calling card of the thing or event. This means that protection depends on recognizing the latter as such. Economically speaking, you and just about everyone else who considers themselves to be part of the 99 percent face a rough rode ahead. You can, however, smooth out the bumps by taking the appropriate measures today.

So you’re afraid that your lost driver’s license has fallen into a stranger’s hands, and you can’t be sure of this unknown individual’s intentions. The sad fact is that identity theft is one of the planet’s fastest growing forms of fraud because the anonymity of it makes the crime attractive. Knowing this, you are justified in your anxiety.

You try to ease your anxiety be reminding yourself that, though some unscrupulous stranger may have your driver’s license, he does not have other information necessary to pull off a complete theft of your name – your Social Security number or your mother’s maiden name, for example. Yet, if the stranger with your lost driver’s license is determined enough, the lack of other identifying information. Your driver’s license bears your full name, date of birth, and residential address. With this information, a would-be identity thief can run a background check on you and gather a great deal more information. This additional information includes:

• Address history;
• Bankruptcies;
• Criminal and sex offence histories;
• Home value and property titles;
• Marriage and divorce records;
• Names of relatives, neighbors, associates, and familiars;
• Telephone numbers.

In addition of the danger of an ID thief delving into your history, you also run the risk of having your lost driver’s license sold to other malefactors. This risk runs especially high in large metropolitan areas, in which their exist huge markets for identification documents. Your lost driver’s license enjoys tremendous street value, in other words, because it can be used as documentation by individuals who reside in the country illegally. Indeed, the information on your lost driver’s license can possibly be used to obtain a fraudulent Social Security number. (To the Social Security Administration’s credit, it has a good record of preventing most such fraudulent issuances; but all it takes is one time….)

Admittedly, these possibilities represent nightmare scenarios. It’s wise never to take your chances, however. It’s quite possible that were you to lose your driver’s license nothing would happen. Yet it’s also quite possible that consequences beyond your worst imaginings might follow the loss.

Immmediate action you should take in the event that you lose your driver’s license involves your earnings history and your credit. “What you should do is get a printout of your earnings from the Social Security administration for at least the next three years, to make sure that the earnings showing up on your record belong to you,” advises one knowledgeable participant on DSLReports.com forum. “Also get a yearly credit report for at least the same time frame to make sure that everything on it belongs only to you. Reporting the loss to the DMV should cover you legally.”

Your responsibilities don’t end with covering yourself legally, however. You must also take measures to protect your identity, finances and credit. This means you must secure the services of a reputable identity theft protection and credit monitoring specialist. Either provides you with a host of services that enable you to defend against the encroachments of any would-be fraudster. A lost driver’s license is occasion for worry. Fortunately, resources exist that allow you to alleviate that worry. But in order to do so, you must take the appropriate actions right away.

Identity theft is one of the world’s fastest growing crimes. This doesn’t come as big news. After all, headlines have been trumpeting this fact for years. What may surprise you is just how supremely insidious a crime it is. “Initially, identity theft is like being robbed without even knowing it!”, writes Ethan Pope in his 2006 book, “Identity Theft: Protecting Yourself from an Unprotected World.” “No one stuck a gun in your face and asked you to hand over your wallet. In fact, it’s possible you have been robbed every day for months and you still don’t even know it.”

Truly the stuff of nightmares, this creeping, silent, ongoing rip-off that is identity theft! You of course wish very much to avoid falling victim to such fraud. But may want to ask yourself how practical avoidance is, especially if you don’t carry identity theft protection. Times are tough; the economy’s still on its back. Every dollar you earn and save, every dime of credit extended to you, is as precious to you as your own life’s blood. If you seek value in identity theft protection, then you should give ProtectMyID a look.

Value with ProtectMyID begins with a thirty-day free trial. After the trial period, coverage costs $9.95 a month should you decide to continue doing business with the company. Should you decide to discontinue a relationship with ProtectMyID, you will not be charged for any service during the free trial period.

A cornerstone of ProtectMyID’s service is credit monitoring. Changes of address, new accounts, new inquiries, public records – all of these fall under ProtectMyID’s scrutiny. In the event that it detects signs of mischief, you receive an email alert informing you of the development. Yet even if no suspicious activity is detected, ProtectMyID will email you to let you know that all is well with your information and accounts. Like its competitors in the identity theft protection industry, ProtectMyID extends its vigilance to Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion.

Any evidence of fraudulent activity prompts ProtectMyID to take action on your behalf by helping you to cancel any compromised debit and credit cards. ProtectMyID also informs the police and the credit bureaus of the fraud event, sets up fraud alerts, and freezes your credit report.

With such service comes a $1 million guarantee, which essentially functions as an insurance policy against the event that you incur any expenses consequent to nay identity theft you might fall victim to while subscribing to ProtectMyID.

A modest additional $6.95 buys you ChildSecure, ProtectMyID’s credit monitoring service for minors in your care. This alerts you to any funny business involving your child’s personal information.

At no additional cost to adults purchasing ProtectMyID is CardSafe, a service that registers your debit and credit cards in the event that it’s lost or stolen.

ProtectMyID stands committed to offering you excellent help and support. Friendly telephone and email assistance is available during the following weekday and weekend hours:

• Monday through Friday, 6:00 AM to 6:00 PM;
• Saturday and Sunday, 8 AM to 5 PM.

ProtectMyID’s website also features an extensive and useful FAQ section to help you to resolve quickly any issues that may arise.

The judgment’s in: ProtectMyID offers an impressive array of identity theft protection features. If you go with ProtectMyID, you might find yourself wishing to obtain credit reports from all three credit reporting agencies (a service ProtectMyID doesn’t offer), but otherwise you’ll no doubt be happy with the company’s product, especially if value is what you’re after.

The fraud that is identity theft has swept the global like a particularly virulent disease. And, as a consequence of the fact that most of the world is integrated into a market involving mobile capital of global reach, the identity fraud epidemic means tragedy for some and opportunity for others. Perhaps some of the biggest go-getters in this riotous new age of rampant identity theft are the very banks extending consumer credit. Having made this credit easy to obtain, these banks contributed significantly to the problem. Big profits are to be had in identity theft, and the world doesn’t lack for unscrupulous characters eager to partake of them. The culpable banks have responded, then, by offering their customers services designed to defend against identity theft.

Many nonbanking entities also have gotten into the business of selling identity theft protection. LifeLock, TrustedID, IDENTITY GUARD, ProtectMyID, Equifax – these are but a few names associated with this growing market. For subscriptions of varying amounts and terms, these companies monitor your credit reports for any suspicious activity. Should they detect any, they alert you and set about helping you recover from the crime.

Though these services will generally aid customers in recovering from identity fraud, they emphasize prevention and have designed various services around enhancing this protection. “If credit monitoring is a burglar alarm that goes off when someone steals your identity, a fraud alert is a deadbolt that prevents break-ins,” reports a 2008 PC World article. “LifeLock and TrustedID contact the bureaus and set the alert. Debix … provides its own contact number for lenders. When a creditor calls the number, Debix’s automated voice network calls your phone and lets you approve or deny the transaction by entering a PIN. Debix can call up to three numbers until it finds you.”

The particulars of how these alert work aside, it remains the case for most identity theft protection services, credit monitoring is simply one of several features on offer. Another typical feature is some sort of monetary guarantee. The usual amount is $1 million and is there to guarantee against losses consequent to any occurrence of identity theft.

Though this many-zeroed figure looks impressive, the fact is that wildly exceeds actual reported losses following an event of identity fraud. The PC World article reports that “the average out-of-pocket cost for identity theft victims in 2007 was $691, and the average loss for people who had false accounts opened in their names was $1066.” Still, it’s no doubt comforting for identity theft protection service customers to know that these companies are willing to dedicate significant money to repairing the damage identity fraud can cause to their credit and finances.

Credit monitoring, fraud alerts, million-dollar guarantees – these already seem a rich smorgasbord of services. But most identity theft protection companies feature the additional service of a credit freeze, which locks down your credit accounts in the event that you discover information of yours attached to these accounts has been compromised. “With a freeze … credit bureaus won’t release your report at all,” the PC World article reports. Yet it’s best that you make use of this service only as a last resort, because, as the article continues, “[e]ven with a freeze in place, identity thieves can use your medical insurance, ruin your eBay reputation, or apply for jobs with your name.”

The upshot is that, in the broad strokes, the various identity theft protection services resemble each other so closely as to be virtually indistinguishable. So, when shopping for a service, it’s smart to rely on reviews of these services, which help you to evaluate the various features on offer in such a way as to allow you to realize the best value for your money. As with so many things in life, the devil is in the details. If you don’t want fraud or identity theft to bedevil you and your family, do the necessary investigation to find out which identity theft protection service is right for you.

You live a modern life, which means you’re seemingly always on the run. IDENTITY GUARD® TOTAL PROTECTION® protects you wherever your responsilities take you with unbeatable combo of credit, Web, PC, and on-the-go coverage.

Though IDENTITY GUARD® TOTAL PROTECTION® does not issue fraud alerts for your account, the company does provide daily online monitoring in order to detect any mischief visited on your credit and finances. This monitoring extends to known sites on which stolen personal information (credit card and banking account numbers, Social Security numbers) is bought and sold, and to databases on which your personal information resides.

IDENTITY GUARD® TOTAL PROTECTION® doesn’t limit its coverage to the virtual realm; the material realm also falls within its purview. The company offers customers stolen or lost wallet recovery assistance, which with an easy phone call grants you access to emergency funds of up to $2,000.

Even if you manage to hold on to your wallet, you’ll be glad you have IDENTITY GUARD® TOTAL PROTECTION® on your side. Included in the company’s services is an Internet security suite that keeps safe your computer along with your sensitive personal information. Banking information, insurance policies, medical records, passwords and usernames – these among other items IDENTITY GUARD® TOTAL PROTECTION® protects with its MOBILE LOCKBOX® data storage service. MOBILE LOCKBOX® also features PC or mobile device accesss to current account threshold notifications, balances, fraud monitoring, and transactions.

IDENTITY GUARD® TOTAL PROTECTION® helps to protect the information you don’t place in MOBILE LOCKBOX® with PRIVACYPROTECT®, which offers the following features:

• Keylogging protection that prevents fraudsters from remotely recording your computer keystrokes in order to capture passwords, usernames, and other sensitive information;
• ID Vault secures and safeguards your online transactions by automatically signing you into your online accounts.

The vigilance of PRIVACYPROTECT® IDENTITY GUARD® TOTAL PROTECTION® couples with credit score monitoring with Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion, the three major credit reporting agencies.

All these preventive services make it clear that IDENTITY GUARD® TOTAL PROTECTION® emphasizes protection over resolution. Should the unthinkable happen, however, and you find yourself a victim of identity theft, you can count on IDENTITY GUARD® TOTAL PROTECTION® to be there to help you. The company’s Identity Theft Assistance Center (ITAC) stands as a tremendous resource for guiding you through the steps toward recovery.

An added attraction is the $1 million identity theft insurance that the company makes available to their customers.

Service IDENTITY GUARD® TOTAL PROTECTION® takes seriously. The company’s customer service telephone hotline, though not available 24/7, does keep generous weekday and weekend hours.

In the final analysis, IDENTITY GUARD® TOTAL PROTECTION® offers real value and solid (if not completely stellar) identity theft protection. The company earns gold stars for customer support and its reputation. Though no company can guarantee 100 percent protection from identity theft, some offer stronger safeguards. IDENTITY GUARD® TOTAL PROTECTION® is a standout in this respect, offering one of the fullest complement of protection and recovery services in the industry.

This breach sent Zappos’ chief exec springing into action. “In an email to employees, CEO Tony Hsieh said the company was attacked by ‘a criminal who gained access to parts of our internal network and systems through one of our servers in Kentucky,’” the Observer article continues.

A rather inauspicious beginning to 2012 if you happen to be one of the shoe vending giants millions of customers. Indeed, e-commerce is an increasingly fraught process. You never know where the next attack will come from, and who it will target. If the events of the past year teaches you nothing else, it should impress upon you the idea that protecting your personal information is an extremely serious matter.

It’s fortunate, then, that a fine identity theft protection specialist stands by to help you in this matter. TrustedID, an identity theft protection industry, offers subscribers a solid combo of features designed to prevent, detect, and resolve incidences of identity theft.

Security TrustedID offers in spades: Lender DoubleCheck™ sends out fraud alerts on your behalf. Once this alert is sent, double-checked confirmation will be required for any credit is extended in your name.

Along with Lender DoubleCheck, TrustedID provides subscribers with eagle-eyed fraud monitoring, which includes online scanning of black markets, the “Darknet” and other zones of risk where personal information is bought and sold. Should your information turn up in the course of any these scans, TrustedID’s CreditLock™, which is available in all states at an extra cost, kicks in to freeze your credit. Once CreditLock is engaged, the three major credit reporting bureaus – Equifax, Experian, TransUnion – will honor requests for your credit report only after securing your permission.

Should the worst happen, you’ll be glad that you’ve secured TrustedID’s services. In the event that you experience ID theft, TrustedID assists you in resolving this issue and recovering your good name. TrustedID offers its subscribers a claims kit, which minutely describes the resolution process and offers advice on how to avoid future incidences. TrustedID also informs the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and other government agencies as the need arises.

But TrustedID’s recovery assistance doesn’t end with reports to agencies. Also offered to subscribers is a $1 million service guarantee, in which TrustedID pledges to reimburse you for costs and legal expenses incurred, or wages lost, as a consequence of any defect in the company’s product.

It’s not likely, however, that you’ll find any defect in the many handy additional features TrustedID provides its subscribers. These additional features include:

• Mail-list removal;
• A family plan;
• Custom plans and services for companies.

Whether you find yourself using TrustedID’s services a lot or a little, help is always just a phone call or mouse-click away. Live phone support is available 12 hours daily. Support via email or the website’s FAQ page is available any time. And Trusted ID offers additional information on at its online resource center and identity-theft weblog.

It goes without saying that, when it comes to identity theft, protection begins at home. That’s why you can trust TrustedID to protect your name, Social Security number, telephone numbers, credit card numbers, and email and residential email addresses. All of this solid protection makes TrustedID a reliable service for 2012 and beyond. They provide solid all-round identity theft protection, which allows you to mount a robust defense of your finances, credit, and good name against any would-be fraudsters. With identity theft increasing in frequency with each passing year, it’s foolish to put off until 2013 what you should be doing right now – which is getting you and your family the kind of quality identity theft protection TrustedID has built its reputation on.

The baron did indeed manage to solve this mystery He discovered that the Bi-color Gans hailed from Egypt and only settled in the forests of Bohemia during the summer months. “This goose is of admirable size and boasts a wing span of almost three feet,” he observed. “It is said to feast on sand worms that wash up on the banks of the Nile during a waxing moon. It has a changeable disposition, and will sometimes eat bread offered it by passersby. Its beak is black as winter’s night, and its breast as white as snow. So loud and shrill is its call that it is said sometimes to break glass. On the winter solstice is it said to fly to the moon to mate with a dying star under the gaze of our Heavenly Creator.”

Baron Wildstein thought much of the Bi-color Gans throughout his life. He had neither wife nor child, and he supposedly longed for the company of no one. Even his kinsmen felt ill at ease in his presence, for he was ever talking about his strange and wonderful bird. His only confidant was a peddler that had passed through his district some twenty years ago. A small, foul-smelling man, he seemed to know much of the Bi-color Gans. Some said he came from the East, for he was dark-eyed and beetle-browed. Others claimed he had been at the court of King Hildebrand, the same Hildebrand who has burned the martyr Scoureas on All Pines Day. But the Baron himself said that this unfortunate man, whose name was Vigsund, was an emissary of the Gans itself. For he wore around his neck a silver chain from which a small, white feather hung. This, he said, was a feather plucked from the breast of the Gans.

The Baron was likely enamored, for the two men spent long nights in the Baron’s study, bent over cracked and fading papers illuminated only by the wan light of a tallow candle. Together they read aloud the Baron’s treatise, correcting mistakes and adding new tales. Vigsund said the blood of the Gans could impregnate a virgin and when the childless, cold-hearted Baron heard this his eyes were said to shine.

Much speculation surrounds the Baron’s great treatise, but it has survived some three hundred years, and has become a priceless addition to present-day zoological studies. Though much of what the Baron wrote has been disproved (the Gans’s blood cannot impregnate a virgin), he has given us vital information about this rare and mysterious bird. The Baron said the Gans weighed as much as thirty pounds, but today we know of specimens that are sixty pounds or more. He said it ate only the seeds of the golden Herzschmertz apple, but we now know it also takes it nutriment from a soft, white milk bread favored by the French. This diet of apple seeds and bread imparts to its flesh a delightful flavor – but the author of this work cannot attest to this.

Today the Bi-color Gans can been seen bathing on the banks of the Seine, having departed from the Danube. That river, some say, became foul-smelling and sluggish, and the Gans could no longer bathe in its waters without muddying itself. A more recent work has been written on this animal by an eminent Dutch professor, Huls Wegsterben. Wegsterben claims the Gans does not fly to the moon to reproduce, but rather burrows deep within the earth. There it fashions a large burrow and waits for a mate. The bird then gestates its eggs for six to seven weeks before returning to the surface. Wegsterben’s theory has been challenged by a Polish graduate student, Stanislaw Fickywitz, who posits that the Gans remains in its burrow until its goslings are large enough to fly. The question is still a matter of great debate today, and it seems unlikely that it will be answered any time soon.

The Bi-color Gans has much to teach us. It is rarely sighted nowadays, but much has been written about its habits. Perhaps one day we will learn the secret of its mysterious ways. Just a few days ago an American scholar, Professor Dit Cornflower, announced the presence of the Gans near the headwaters of the Mississippi River. This is a great discovery and implies that the Gans has finally crossed the Atlantic. The future of Bi-color Gans scholarship is promising, for much remains to be written about this elusive and wonderful bird.

One could say that the Bi-color Gans is as elusive and wonderful as an identity – all that makes you what you are. And certainly you don’t want your identity to fly the coop. So invest in identity theft protection or credit monitoring. Not only will you be buying peace of mind, you’ll also ensure you can devote your time to more interesting matters, like the eternal mystery of the Bi-color Gans.

But try telling that to fire eaters, who make consuming flames not only a habit, but a livelihood as well. A common element in the performances of Indian fakirs, which was intended to demonstrate spiritual attainment, fire eating left the exotic East in the late nineteenth century for sideshows throughout Europe and the United States. Such a commonplace in these sideshows has fire eating become that it now functions as a sort of prerequisite accomplishment for circus aspirants.

The nineteenth century saw fire eating’s enshrinement as a fixture in circus sideshows, but the trick has been practiced here and there in the West for centuries. “The secret of fire-eating seems to have discovered about the year 1667,” reports an article in the first volume of The Literary Speculum. “There is an account in the “Journal des Scavans,” of one Richardson, and Englishman, who exhibited at Paris.”

Richardson’s feat “is … mentioned in Evelyn’s Diary.” The article then goes on to reproduce the relevant passage:

“Oct. 8,1672. – I took leave of my Lady Sunderland, who was going to Paris to my Lord, now ambassador there. She made m stay dinnerat Leicester House, and afterwards sent for Richardson, the famous fire-eater. He before us devoured brimstone on glowing coals, chewing and swallowing them. He melted a beere glasse, and eate it quite up; then taking a live coal on his tongue, he put on it a raw oyster; the coal was blown on with bellows till it flam’d and sparkl’d in his mouth, and so remain’d till the oyster gap’d and was quite boil’d; then he melted pitch and wax with sulphur, which he drank down as it flam’d. I saw it flaming in his mouth a good while, &c.”

The sight of a coal flaming in a man’s mouth a good while is sure to make the steadiest nerves quail. Fire eating is, however, not as a dangerous as it looks; many in the profession find themselves quite capable to ply their trade for years. “Other than sound fire safety precautions and some practical advice regarding the laws of physics (i.e., “hot air rises”), there are few secrets to eating fire,” observes the Wikipedia entry on the subject. “Torches do not burn with ‘cold flames’ nor is there any special substance in the performer’s mouth other than saliva.”

Beyond these few precautions and bits of advice opinions diverge. Some practitioners maintain it is an endurance contest that pits minds against matter, while others insists that, when performed properly, the fire eater need not be able to withstand injury. The first contingent claim that “the real ‘secret’ to fire eating is enduring pain” that comes from “constant blisters on your tongue, lips and throat.” The second contingent, on the other hand, argue that “a skilled fire eater should not burn themselves [sic].” Yet, as a consequence of the fact that fire eating remains a closely guarded secret, the particulars of how to execute the trick continues to be a mystery.

Suffice it to say that those who need to know do know. “Fire eating … is a skill usually passed on for a skilled master to an appropriate student and almost all teachings include instructions on first aid, fire safety, chemistry and other appropriate skills,” the Wikipedia entry reports.

Those profane who wish to penetrate the veil of mystery surrounding fire-eating may look to Henry Mayhew’s book, “London Labor and London Poor.” In it, a street-performing fire eater explains his art to the author. “For my performances I begin with eating the lighted link, an ordinary one as purchased at oil-shops,” Mayhew quotes him as saying.

There’s no trick in it, only confidence. It won’t burn you on the inside, but if the pitch falls on the outside, of course it will hurt you. If you hold your breath the moment the lighted piece is put in your mouth, the flame goes out on the instant. Then we squench the flame with spittle. As we take a bit of link in the mouth, we tucks sit on one side of the cheek, as a monkey do with nuts in his pouch. After I have eaten sufficient fire I take hold of the link, and extinguish the lot by putting the burning end in my mouth. Sometimes, when I makes a slip, and don’t put it in careful, it makes your moustache fiz up. I must also mind how I opens my mouth, ‘cos the tar sticks to the lip wherever it touches, and pains sadly. This sore on my hand is caused by the melted pitch dropping on my fingers, and the sores is liable to be bad for a week or eight days. I don’t spit out my bits of link; I always swallow them. I never did spit ‘em out, for they are very wholesome, and keeps you from having any sickness. Whilst I’m getting the next trick ready I chews them up and eats them. It tastes rather roughish, but not nasty when you’re accustomed to it. It’s only like having a mouthful of dust, and very wholesome.

Most folks reading these remarks made by Mayhew’s fire eater would probably be content to take him at his word that these burnt bits of link are “very wholesome.” One thing that’s not very wholesome at all is identity theft. A rapidly growing form of fraud, identity theft can burn up your finances, credit, and good name in no time at all, particularly in these days of computer-enhanced crime. Effective identity theft protection and credit monitoring are to fraudsters like errant drops of burning tar to the back of the hand – certain to pain them sadly when they find their machinations have been thwarted. With so much danger lurking in both cyber- and “meatspace,” why would you take your chances when it comes to ID theft? Take the appropriate action today, before some crook cleans you out, leaving you with nothing but coals out of which to make a hot meal.

The path to a social security card – that golden ticket to legal-worker status – lies through Form SS-5, which bears the title, “Application for A Social Security Number Card.” Once this form has been processed by the Social Security Administration, it’s usually only a matter of weeks before your Social Security card arrives to you.

With the exception of the number, which is uniquely your own, Social Security cards look pretty much alike. This seeming uniformity of appearance belies the fact that there are actually three types of Social Security card:

• The first type of Social Security card is the most frequently issued. It bears the name and number of the individual to whom it is assigned.
• The second type of Social Security card also bear the assignee’s name and number as well as the phrase, “not valid for employment.” Cards of this type fail to satisfy the I-9 form requirement, and therefore cannot be used to secure work.
• The third type of Social Security card bears the assignee’s name and number, as well as the phrase, “valid for work only with DHS authorization.” Cards of this type are issued to temporary workers in the U.S. and satisfy the I-9 form requirement, provided they are accompanied by a work authorization card.

The variety in which Social Security cards come goes to show you how they are rather unproblematically obtained, as long as everything is on the up and up. Unfortunately, because these cards bear numbers that are uniquely identified with individual persons, they become cherished targets of identity thieves who wish to exploit other people’s finances and credit standing in order to commit various forms of fraud and larceny.

So rampant has the problem of identity theft become that experts and authorities alike warn citizens to keep their Social Security number a closely guarded secret. This means that under no circumstances should you ever keep your Social Security card on your person, because this dramatically increases the likelihood that it will get lost or will fall into the clutches of a crook grateful for the unexpected boon that has fallen his way.

Imagine for a moment that the unthinkable has happened: Your Social Security card has been stolen. Perhaps this was through no fault of your own; a clear-thinking person, you kept it safe from prying eyes. But somehow your Social Security card was stolen anyway. The sad fact is that sound precautions, though smart to take, sometimes prove less than 100-percent effective. So if you should discover that your Social Security card has been stolen, the Social Security Administration recommends that you take the following action:

• Immediately contact the Social Security Administration – Whether you suspect that any unauthorized use of your Social Security number is the result of criminal activity, or simply an accident, you must alert the administration, either by telephone at 1-800-772-1213, or via the Web.
• Review your Social Security Administration earnings statement. Sent annually to every earner age 25 or older, this statement (also known as Form SSA-7005) can reveal whether someone has made use of your stolen Social Security card. If you cannot wait for the yearly dispatch of this statement, you can obtain a copy by contacting the Social Security Administration at the telephone number listed above.
• Contact the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) – Should your stolen Social Security card result in misuse by any unknown party, the Social Security Administration cannot help. The Federal Trade Commission, however, can provide you with resources that will allow you to set yourself on the path toward identity-theft recovery. You can reach the FTC by telephone at 1-877-438-4338 or via the Web.
• Contact the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) – Should you discover that your stolen Social Security card has been used by someone seeking to obtain employment, the Social Security Administration cannot be of aid. You must contact the IRS, which can help you to sort out the situation.

Perhaps the question foremost in the minds of folks who have had their Social Security card stolen is whether they should request a new card. The Social Security Administration will issue you a new number under certain conditions. People ineligible for a new number are those who are trying to avoid the consequences of bankruptcy or legal proceedings.

Bear in mind, however, that the Social Security Administration will refuse to issue you a new card if no evidence exists that someone has used your number.

The Social Security Administration warns that a new card to replace your stolen one is not a cure-all or “magic bullet:”

Keep in mind that a new number probably will not solve all your problems. This is because other governmental agencies (such as the Internal Revenue Service and state motor vehicle agencies) and private businesses (such as banks and credit reporting companies) likely will have records under your old number. Also, because credit reporting companies use the number, along with other personal information, to identify your credit record, using a new number will not guarantee you a fresh start. This is especially true if your other personal information, such as your name and address, remains the same.

Additional bulwarks against the dangers introduced by a stolen Social Security card are effective identity theft protection and credit monitoring. These services work to streamline the process of identity theft recovery, whether the fraud suffered came as a result of a stolen Social Security number or some other misdeed.

You would think that this perfect weapon was discovered some decades ago, when Robert Oppenheimer and the rest of the “Manhattan Project” members split the atom – and ignited two Japanese cities, as well as a cold war.

It seems, however, that nuclear weapons, while certainly effective as far as they go, are less-than-perfect when it comes to conflicts which are something less than all-out war. Most combatants ultimately show themselves less than enthusiastic about the prospect of Armageddon. They’d rather win decisively and bring the troops home.

In low-intensity conflicts – those which do not escalate to the level of all-out war or nuclear exchange – the definition of “perfect weapon” departs quite a bit from the definition as it applies to hydrogen bombs. The Greek philosopher Aristotle considered any relative measure of usefulness or effectiveness as depending on a device’s “arete,” or peculiar virtue. This notion of peculiar virtue easily applies to weaponry. “That a good-shaped, well-finished weapon … manufactured with a view to its being used for a special purpose, is more convenient and effective than a ruder and less perfect weapon … made with a view to its being used for the same purpose, there can be no reasonable doubt,” observes an article in an issue of The Index. This fairly captures the notion of peculiar virtue, which captures in it various related qualities – utility, effectiveness, ease of use, and so on.

Some weapons’ peculiar virtues are manifest; others need to be discovered. In recent year military research has rendered up some pretty impressive weapons technology, one of the most of impressive of which is the railgun. It fires in a rather unusual way. “A railgun is an entirely electrical gun that accelerates a conductive projectile along a pair of metal rails using the same principles as the homopolar motor,” reads the Wikipedia entry on the subject.

Railguns use two sliding or rolling contacts that permit a large electric current to pass through the projectile. This current interacts with the strong magnetic fields generated by the rails and this accelerates the projectile. Particular characteristics are the lack of propellant (only the projectile and the electrical energy to launch it are required to be expended) and the ability to launch projectiles much faster than firearms-based technology allows.

No more smoke and flash of gunpowder with these guns. Instead a hum and crackle precede the devastating explosion.

The railgun brings the noise in a real hurry. “Projectiles fired from an electromagnetic railgun will travel up to 290 miles in less than six minutes, exiting the atmosphere before hurtling into their target at a velocity of 5,000 feet per second,” reports a 2004 issue of Popular Science. “The force of the impact will obliterate target without an explosive aid.”

Obliterating a target without an explosive aid is quite a novel devlopment, reversing as it does centuries of weapons technology, which has tended to move to ever bigger and more devastating booms. Railguns exchange explosive payload for greater muzzle speed, which, increased dramatically, more than compensates for the sacrifice.

The wizardry of the railgun has captured the imagination of writers, particularly those in the sci-fi genre. “The buzz of the railguns’ coils energizing was marrow deep, more penetrating than a mere noise could ever be,” writes David Drake in his novel, “Seas of Venus.” “When the guns discharged in rapid succession, the ballistic crack of a slug accelerating to thirty thousand feet per second in a few yards shattered the air like nearby lightning.”

Drake of course takes license for the sake of literary effect. But the reality of the railgun and its deadly effects require no embroidering or embellishment.

Effective identity theft protection and credit monitoring can bring all the power of a railgun to your arsenal. Identity theft is the world’s most rapidly growing form of fraud, the consequences of which can have you reeling should it catch you with your guard down. It behooves you, then, to blast ID thieves and related fraudsters before they blast you.