What is Identity Theft?
Identity theft is the unauthorized transfer or use of another person's identification with the intent to commit an unlawful activity. It occurs when a con artist uses an individual's personal information to apply for a loan, a credit card, a driver's license, or even a job. In our media-driven society where individuals are seemingly guilty until proven innocent, this crime can lead to a ruined credit rating, a tarnished reputation, and even wrongful imprisonment.

Identity theft has affected 8.4 million Americans in 2006, according to a February, 2007, Identity Theft Survey sponsored by Visa and Wells Fargo.

What is the McGruff^® ID Armor^®?
A convenient, comprehensive tool to prevent identity theft BEFORE it happens, designed by BoomerangIt in partnership with the National Crime Prevention Council.

What’s the audience for this product?
McGruff^® ID Armor^® offers protection for everyone, including homeowners, business people, employees and law enforcement.

Are there any other products like this available?
There are a number of credit monitoring services that use credit report comparison methods. They will only alert you to suspicious activity and do virtually nothing to prevent it from happening. There is also insurance available, which is costly, covers only a fraction of identity theft related expenses and does nothing to help your credit rating or avoid the hassles if you do become a victim. McGruff^® ID Armor^® is much less expensive and more user friendly than other items on the market, and is designed to prevent identity theft, rather than simply try and clean up afterwards.

What makes the McGruff^® ID Armor^® better?
McGruff^® ID Armor^® pack empowers consumers to take proactive steps to prevent this crime BEFORE it happens. The pack provides an extra measure of security, because it’s designed to detect fraudulent activity and allows law enforcement, businesses and credit issuers to collaborate to identify, apprehend and prove cases against perpetrators. It’s less expensive and easier to complete than other packs that try to address the problem of identity theft.

Isn’t this information available from various sources?
On your own, it would take 50 hours or more of research and digging into legislation and scattered bits and pieces of information to get all the details needed to protect yourself. BoomerangIt has done the dirty work for you, gathering all the important forms, information and advice into one convenient, inexpensive pack.

What’s the relationship between the National Crime Prevention Council, McGruff^® ID Armor^® the Crime Dog and BoomerangIt?
McGruff^® ID Armor^® was designed by BoomerangIt in conjunction with the National Crime Prevention Council. BoomerangIt is an official licensee of the National Crime Prevention Council (the McGruff^® ID Armor^® the crime dog folks) and works with the council to reduce the costs and impact of identity theft on individuals, and fight identity theft as a threat to the nation’s security.

What do you get in the packet?
The pack includes everything needed to help prevent identity theft and protect privacy: easy-to-follow directions, a comprehensive and efficient set of pre-addressed letters, address labels and phone numbers that make it quick and easy to complete. McGruff^® ID Armor^® includes valuable tips concerning credit fraud notification, DMV fraud notification, unsolicited mail, phone calls, and e-mails reduction, medical records information protection, and Internet privacy.

What exactly happens once you’ve completed the information provided in the pack?
It normally takes about two months to kick in gear. Potential creditors must verify your identity and will know to call you before issuing credit in your name. You can also receive free copies of your credit report from the three major credit bureaus to check for fraudulent activity and will get less junk mail, telemarketing calls and e-mail spam.

Are there any drawbacks to setting this process in motion?
Filing a fraud alert with credit bureaus may make getting instant credit more difficult. You may not be able to view your credit report online. In addition, consumers will have to renew the credit alert with the credit bureaus every 90 days. These inconveniences are minor compared to the vast amount of time and money you might spend in cleaning up your good name AFTER identity theft occurs.

How long does it take to complete the packet?
A consumer can protect his or her name and privacy in about 30 minutes, the time it takes to complete the forms and make the recommended phone calls.

Where can you buy it?
Business people, home owners, employees – any consumer concerned about protecting their identity and privacy – can purchase the McGruff^® ID Armor^® online at BoomerangIt.com or Amazon.com for $7.95-14.95.