I’m not going to tell you that every case of identity theft is an extreme one.  Just like every car accident is not fatal, but every case will cause you some level of stress and headache.  You just never know what your situation might be?

There are plenty of stories I could share with you that will show you horrible effects of having your identity stolen.  The recent movie “Identity Thief” with Jason Bateman and Melissa McCarthy used comedy to show you some of the realities of having someone steal your identity.

For me identity theft protection just makes sense the same way like having automobile insurance, health insurance, home alarm systems, etc. They help us to have peace of mind in the event that something happens.

For those extreme cases of identity theft, you could really have your life change drastically for a long time or even for the rest of your life.  Some extreme cases require the victim to have to change their name, get a new Social Security number and make radically changes that not only affect their physical life but their emotional and psychological one as well.

The reality is that identity theft continues to be on the rise.  According to the Federal Trade Commission identity theft has gone up for the last 13 consecutive years.  Based on the fact that more and more companies are digitizing their data and storing them in large databases, and the fact that there are people looking to make a quick buck selling personal information.  It is easy to see that identity theft will be with us for a while.   The best choice of action is to educate yourself on how to prevent identity theft and to put a plan in place in the event it happens to you.