Will the Real SSN# 539-00-3998 Please Stand Up!

May 29, 2009 – 4:20 pm

truth “To Tell the Truth” may not be on the air any longer (although it has aired every decade for the past six decades), but the game’s idea is still going strong. For those not familiar with “To Tell the Truth,” it dealt with a panel of celebrities asking questions to decide which person was telling the truth about their identity. One of the three people was sworn to tell the truth. The other two people lied to convince the panel that they were the real person being searched for. When you think of it, it may be the first televised incident of identity theft.

And it hasn’t stopped. Now, instead of trying to fool contestants out of cash and prizes, identity thieves fool credit companies, car dealerships and loan companies into thinking that they’re you and reap the rewards. That is, unless you have protection that let’s you know when you become a target. You can place fraud alerts with your credit companies every 90 days to alert you if anyone has tried to pose as you. However, not many people do this, or if they do, they don’t refresh the reports every 90 days.

Let’s face it. The credit corporations aren’t going to be a help. They only offer minimal preventative services because they’ve been ordered to by high authorities and organizations. And even then they make them as difficult as possible to utilize in the hopes that you’ll just give up. You need your own version of Bud Collyer (original host of “To Tell the Truth”) to keep the imposters honest. If you don’t, you may not be the only one standing up when they call your social.

Bookmark It