If You Are Me, then Who Am I

About the Book

If You are Me, then Who am I? Not a question we ever expected to ask
ourselves, until Identity Theft surpassed the world-wide drug trade to become
the largest crime in history. This book will take you beyond the glossy ads
and the television commercials and into the reality of being an Identity Theft
victim. There will be no men talking with women’s voices, no superheroes
coming up out of the concrete to save you, but you will understand that
your identity is about more than just your credit history. As a citizen your
personal information can be used in many different ways to harm you both
directly and indirectly, so the more you know, the safer you can be. If you are
a business owner, the government is now requiring your help in protecting
your customers, employees, and clients. We will help you understand what
you need to do inside your own business as well as what safeguards to look for
within the businesses you choose to patronize. Identity Th eft is like Alice in
Wonderland for adults. Welcome to a view through the looking glass.

About the Author

John P. Gardner, Jr. is an attorney and one of the nation’s leading experts on Identity Theft. He consults with various State Governmental entities, including members of the Kentucky Senate, the Michigan House of Representatives, and the South Carolina Senate Finance and House Judiciary Committee Staff on Identity Theft, Privacy and Data Protection legislation. He is a former four term member of the South Carolina General Assembly and a former Commissioner of the South Carolina Department of Highways and Public Transportation which had jurisdiction over the Department of Motor Vehicles and the State Police. As a Keynote Speaker on Identity Theft, Privacy, and Data Protection, he has presented to the National Association of Insurance Women, The Independent Physicians Association of America, The Oklahoma Chiefs of Police Association, the Professional Healthcare Institute of America, the National Restaurant Association, and the American Recovery Association. He has trained at the American Association of Managing General Agents University, the National Convention of the Public Risk Manager’s Association and been broadcast live over Ford Motor’s Dealer Network to all their dealers. He as well has conducted Continuing Education Programs on Identity Theft, Data Protection, and Privacy Laws for the Arizona Bar Association and Tennessee Municipal Attorneys Association, as well as Insurance and Human Resource Continuing Education Programs. James D. McCartney, CIPP/G, CITRMS is an identity management and privacy consultant in BearingPoint’s Security and Identity Management Solutions Group. He was the first person certified as both an Information Privacy Professional and Identity Theft Risk Management Specialist. Having worked with the Transportation Security Administration and the Department of Homeland Security, he is currently working on the deployment of the next generation of ID card for the Department of Defense (DoD). He is also working with the DoD and the Veterans Health Administration to eliminate the unnecessary use of the Social Security Number in support of the recommendations of the President’s Task Force on Identity Theft. Prior to BearingPoint, he was a Naval Officer and Nuclear Engineer and a graduate of the US Air Force Academy. Jeffrey M. Omtvedt holds a B.A. in Political Science, with a focus on American Government and Political Theory, from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. After completing his undergraduate education, he spent three years in Chicago, working for an international distribution company, where he specialized in web software programming, e-commerce software architecture, and business-to-business supply chain integration. Working in the technical arena has provided him with fantastic insight on how technology not only helps consumers protect themselves, but can tremendously aid thieves in accessing private information. Mr. Omtvedt began researching identity theft in 2003. He is a Certified Identity Theft Risk Management Specialist from The Institute of Fraud Risk Management. He was a nominee for The Crain’s Detroit “20 in their 20’s”, an award that highlights “tomorrow’s smartest, brightest, and most creative business stars.” He is a professional speaker on the subject of identity theft and has addressed crowds from 15 to 15,000. Mr. Omtvedt currently resides in MI, with his wife and son, where he consults on issues pertaining to Risk Management, IT, HR Strategies, Life Events Legal Plans, Identity Theft Awareness and Liability, and the Erosion of Privacy.