Invasion of the Identity Snatchers: Would You Know If Someone Stole Roxy's Identity?

Here's a Friday the 13th, Invasion of the Identity Snatchers question for all of you, my loyal Roxiticus Desperate Housewives readers:

Some of you have been with me for about four months now, through thick and thin, and over 400 posts (yep, #400 slipped by without a celebration, but we'll find a lucky number to celebrate when we get to our 20,000th visitor at the end of June)...would you know if someone had stolen Roxy's identity and started posting here on my blog? They come from another world. What would you do if you suspected that Henson (posts suddenly a little too funny?) or Mariuca (triple-digit comments in foreign tongues on every post) or Matt (unexpected plans for a summer whitewater rafting/camping trip) or Lady Java (photos of cats drinking coffee appearing in sidebar) or the Mom With Brownies (fresh baked goods for readers every day) had stolen my identity and had begun brainwashing you with fraudulent messages from Roxy? And what would I do about it?

Although I'm posting lightly about it here, identity theft is really no joke. I haven't had a "serious case" of it in my own real life, but one time, someone did find a way to steal my Citibank credit card number (though not the physical card) and made their very own fraudulent Bree Van de Kamp Citibank plastic card. They used the fake credit card to fill up for $18.80 at a gas station (it wasn't a matchbox car, it was about four years ago when gas was much cheaper), followed by $4,400 at a custom furniture shop in Georgia. Talk about stupid! Incredible! Invisible! Insatiable! Have any of you ever ordered custom furniture? It generally takes between fourteen and twenty weeks for delivery, and they tend to deliver it to your physical location. If Citibank didn't catch my identity thief before she got very far with her pleather Barca Lounger, they don't deserve to get their $4,418.80 back.

Something is happening! Send your men of science quick! Better to try to get a step or two ahead of the Identity Snatchers today than to deal with the nightmare after it happens. Visit Shop Shield® to learn about their fresh new consumer service offering complete protection against identity theft and fraud when you shop online. Shop Shield® is a completely FREE, cutting edge privacy solution that protects your:

* Credit Card Numbers
* Bank Accounts
* Billing Address
* Email Address
* Login Information

Right now, Shop Shield® is conducting a live beta test to sign-up consumers for usability testing. If you sign up and use the Shop Shield® service, you'll never have to worry about hackers and insiders gaining access to customer databases, stealing your name, credit card number, password or even your email address, because this information is never entered into the databases of the web sites where you are shopping. The companies you buy from while using Shop Shield® will not be able to sell your information to the Identity Snatchers – because you'll never give it to them. With Shop Shield®, there’s no risk your information could be compromised at a merchant web site, because it’s never sent there. Guaranteed!

At Shop Shield®, your consumer data is stored in a fortress of security systems. All personally identifiable information is broken into undecipherable fragments, then encrypted. The encrypted data is stored in multiple independent databases. Every transaction is monitored and recorded using technologies and hardware modeled after Department of Defense security standards that exceed even federal banking standards. And if the Identity Snatchers get to you while you're using Shop Shield®, Shop Shield® will reimburse every penny, up to $10,000 above and beyond the coverage your credit card company or bank provides. Shop Shield® will also provide complete, and personalized victim resolution services at no charge.

So unless you're feeling lucky this Friday the 13th, I'd recommend that we all Learn More about Shop Shield®...before there's nothing to hold onto -- except each other.