Participate in National Protect Your Identity Week

Oct. 18, 2010 - PRLog -- In recognition of National Protect Your Identity Week (October 17-22), Sonya Smith Valentine International is urging consumers to learn about identity theft prevention.  There are more than 10 million victims of identity theft each year, making it America’s fastest growing crime.  

Protect Your Identity Week (PYIW) is a grass roots initiative created to build awareness and educate communities across the country about identity theft.  It is imperative for people to get the facts and arm themselves with information.

Prevention is the best defense against identity theft.   At Sonya Smith Valentine International, we work diligently to educate consumers on protecting their personal and financial information.  “Each of us would like to believe that identity theft won’t happen to me.  Unfortunately, we are all potential victims.  We can, however, significantly reduce our chances of becoming a victim if we are vigilant and follow some simple steps.”, said Sonya Smith-Valentine, Identity Theft and Credit Report Expert for Professional Women and President of Sonya Smith Valentine International (http://www.SonyaSmithValentine.com).  Here are a few ways to protect yourself:
• Freeze your credit reports with each credit bureau to prevent new unauthorized accounts from being opened in your name.
• Shred statements and other personal information to prevent access to your accounts and personal information by “dumpster diving” (retrieving personal information like canceled checks or credit card statements from trash bins).
• Review your monthly accounts regularly for any unauthorized charges.
• Order free copies of your credit report regularly from www.annualcreditreport.com.

For information on local PYIW events, visit www.ProtectYourIDNow.org.

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Sonya Smith Valentine International is a company devoted to helping professional women nurture their credit reports so their careers can thrive. The company educates professional women on protecting their identities, the importance of a healthy credit report and the major impact that credit reports and identity theft have on a woman’s professional career.