Read Stealing Your Life The Ultimate Identity Theft Prevention Plan Frank W Abagnale 9780767925877 Books

Product details Paperback 256 pages Publisher Broadway Books; Reprint edition (May 13, 2008) Language English ISBN-10 0767925874

Stealing Your Life The Ultimate Identity Theft Prevention Plan Frank W Abagnale 9780767925877 Books Reviews

• This book is written by one of our nation's top security experts, one who truly serves the American people. If you have questions about identity theft or protecting yourself, this book is a great start.
• A good book overall to be aware of how identity theft occurs and steps to prevent it from happening to you.
  
  I was familiar with most of the tactics identity thieves use, such as the scam emails telling you that millions of dollars will be transferred to your account (I've gotten tons of those emails). Other methods used by identity thieves were unfamiliar to me, such as taking your personal information during supposedly public surveys.
  
  I did find the author a bit repetitious, and felt this book could have been written in a fewer pages. The author does however get his point across, and not only will you be scared, but you will also be encouraged to start taking precautions against identity thieves. You will also wonder whether you are already the victim of an identity thief.
  
  I did find it surprising that most identity thieves are close friends or relatives! This bit came to me as a shocker, and the author gives many real life cases of how children stole the identity of their own parents, or vice-versa. You can really never trust anyone.
  
  I did find it annoying when the author promoted his shredder. I think this could have been discussed in an index, but not within the book itself. This somehow made me take the book less seriously, even though the author is a former counterfeiter and an FBI instructor on identity theft and counterfeits.
  
  This book is a must read for anyone wishing to identify identity theft and learn of ways to prevent it from happening in the first place (like shredding all your documents using the author's patented shredder hihihihihihihi).
  
  The book could have been shorter and more captivating, and I did find myself skipping pages and skimming over others.
• Everyone should definitely read this book. Mr. Abagnale does a great job of making people aware of how vulnerable we all are to the dangers of identity theft.
  
  What I didn't like was his tendency to sensationalize and exaggerate certain things; being able to access live satellite video feeds of your house on the internet, stuff like that. Yeah Google Earth and the street level view don't do much for privacy, but the satellite picture of my subdivision is so dated that it still shows a big patch of dirt. Hardly live, hardly a threat to your kids.
  
  I say again, definitely buy this book and read it. You'll be a much more prepared and aware person for doing so. I can definitely see why he places so much emphasis on prevention, with more serious crime being so prevalent these days, the government doesn't have the resources to really go after identity thieves. Maybe we should all form an underground anti-identity theft vigilante group. Any takers?
• If you do not pay attention to authors self-glorification - it is good a reading.
• I enjoy security books by Abagnale and this is no different. There are people that will say that this material should not be published as so many crooks will copy the techniques. The crooks already know these techniques and a crook using old techniques will get caught sooner than later. Frank discusses both the holes in the system as well as a variety of ways you can plug them (if you are vulnerable). It is the innocents that do not realize the danger they put themselves into on a daily basis that need, really need, to read (listen to) this book. I believe that everyone could benefit by reading this book (even if you work in this field).
• I listened to this book via my Audible.com subscription. I bought the print edition because there were so many reference I wanted to be able to look back on. It's hard to do with the audio version so I bought the book. It makes you so much aware of the things that can bite you. The precautions are worth the price of the book. I don't overlook some of the things he suggested any more.
• Must read for anyone who uses technology in their everyday life. Helps you stay protected.
• Bright sturdy good lock