Taking Action Against Identity Theft

Like Gandhi said: "You must be the change you want to see in the world." Since my world revolves around credit, personal finance and identity theft, I often find myself fighting for consumer rights even in my private life. Here is one recent success story:

A few weeks ago I received an "audit" letter from my 401(k) company. This letter included my full name, address, birth date, Social Security number, job information, account number and beneficiary information. None of the data was masked or protected in anyway. The pretense was that they were sending this letter to confirm that I really was at this address. Mailing out all my personal information to what "may be" my address?! I wasn't going to stand for that.

After contacting the company through my employer, I just received a letter today saying:

We have reviewed our procedures and have made necessary corrections to prevent this from occurring again...We are committed to ensuring your continued trust in how we handle your personal information.

Wow! See what a difference one little letter can make? Next time you spot some corporate behavior that makes you uncomfortable, send in a letter to the company. It's up to us to put the pressure on businesses when it comes to identity theft, security and privacy.

Have you experienced something like this? What changes would you like your financial institutions to implement? Share your feedback in the comments section below.