This past week, the entire NFL and Washington Redskins community suffered a the tragic loss of a great football player, father, and an incredible guy in Sean Taylor.  The reports that have come out today is that the Miami-Dade police have detained three people in his slaying who were seeking to rob the house of this well known NFL player and did not plan on him being there. 

While it seems that celebrity or fame should not relegate you to living behind high fences or armed guard, there are somethings that anyone can do to protect their identity.  Doing so may not only protect your credit but, as in the case of Sean Taylor, may save your life

1. Unlist your phone number.  The most basic step is to unlist your phone number.  Taken another step further is to restrict access to your phone number.  This will prevent it from showing on Caller-ID programs.  This way, you can choose who you give your number out to.  For mortgage and real estate professionals who work from home, try not to use your home phone to conduct business.  If necessary, have a separate line for your business. 

2. Opt out of mailing lists.  Unsolicited, prescreened credit offers is the easist way to steal someones identity.  You can visit http://www.ftc.org/to learn about how you can opt out of most prescreened mailers. 

3. Use a post office box to receive your mail or a locking mailbox.

4. Purchase your next home in a corporation.  I'm continuously suprised at how easy it is to get the addresses of celebrities or sports figures.  A quick search into any tax record would reveal the homes of every NASCAR driver in the Charlotte area.  Worse yet is that some people feel it right to post these addresses to message boards.  While inappropriate for most people, you can establish a corporation and purchase your home through it.  This is very common when an investor or large developer purchases a large tract of land.  Since they don't want to tip off to the area and other developers who are moving in, large developers will usually purchase property through a shell corporation, which has no name similarities to their parent company. 

5. When selling your home, request all visitors to sign a privacy agreement and show proof of funds prior to receiving information or allowing a showing.  Once again, not appropriate for 99% of sellers however if you are a celebrity or if the sale of your home could have negative effects to your business, this is an option you need to consider.  The last thing you want is an unqualified buyer, reporter, or paparazzi assisted by a less than honorable agent through your home.  When Donald Trump makes an offer to buy real estate, you never know it is him making the purchase until after the transaction is closed.  The reason is that a seller could increase the price because the buyer has the means, like Trump. 

6. Not all security systems are the same. Get the best!  An alarm needs to have either a cellular or internet means to call out to the police if the phone line is cut.  In the Taylor situation, the murderers cut the phone line.  Had the police had responded when first alerted, Taylor may not have died.  If you are one with a car collection that you keep in your home garage, don't rely on the window sensors to protect your car.  Motion sensors are necessary in case the thieves cut your garage door open. 

A protective dog is also added security as it can alert you when trouble is near. 

7. Consider installing a CCTV system.  Closed Circuit TV has been around for awhile however today, they are so affordable and easy to install, anyone can have one.  A great place to have them is at the front door along with a motion sensored light.  If you get a loud knock at the front door, you can flip the channel over to the CCTV station and see who's there.  Most can be tied into a TIVO to record the activities of the day or even boardcast to a secure account over the internet (i.e. nanny cam),

8. If you're leaving the country, put a credit freeze on your credit.  A credit freeze is a free service provided by the credit bureaus that will not allow you to open any new lines of credit.  This is helpful if you are a traveler overseas and fear having your identity stolen. 

Here's an extra tip 

9. If you own a very expensive or rare car, you can add a tracker to the car to protect it in the event it is stolen.  Often times, especially around car shows, thieves cruise hotel parking lots looking for valuable cars they can break into or steal.  They've been known to break into trailers and remove the contents at night, for those of you with trailer queens.  Directed Corp. has a product called direct track (http://www.directed.com/) that allows you track any vehicle through the internet, locating it anywhere, and (and this is what onstar can't do) you can turn off the car through the internet.  Unlike onstar which is cellular based, direct track is satellite based and can be added to any car, boat, airplane etc. 

I hope you find these tips helpful. 

Sincerely;
Jonathan Osman
The Charlotte House Hunter
Charlotte NC Homes, Charlotte Real Estate