Personal Injury and Social Security Disability Blog

Is Someone Using Your Social Security Number?

The tech company Trusted ID, which launched IDFreeze last year to help protect people from identity theft, released their second product this month - Stolen ID Search.

At no cost, you type a social security or credit card number into the search box and Trusted ID will tell you if it is published on the Internet. The information that powers StolenID Search is found online, by looking in places where ID thiefs typically trade or store this kind of information. All information behind StolenID search is publicly available, but not in places where you, or even search engines such as Yahoo and Google, would look.

If it turns out that your Social Security or credit card numbers are on the Internet, Trusted ID will try to sell you their IDFreeze product to help you get control over your information.

Now, the big question is whether you think it's wise to type in your Social Security number or credit card number at a Web site where hackers could potentially get to it. Interesting question.

Link of the Day - Google Takes The Bus

Here's the latest innovation from Google Maps -- bus routes. Unfortunately, it's only available for Portland, Oregon now, but we can assume Google will eventually add all the major cities.

Link of the Day - My Medicare Matters

The new Medicare prescription drug law has produced chaos, to say the least. The law and the new prescription plans are extremely confusing, especially to some senior citizens.

This Web site offers good explanations of various aspects of the law, and has links that allow you to compare drug plans.

Safety Alert -- Lock Bumping And Bump Keys

"Lock Bumping" is the latest safety issue for homeowners. This video shows how burglars can break into many homes by using a "bump key" to open a door lock. This is a serious matter, and all homeowners should be aware of this potential problem. Click twice on the arrow to view the video.

Link of the Day - Texas Vital Records

Do you need to obtain any vital records from the State of Texas? (Actually, we refer to it as the GSOT -- Great State of Texas)

This page gives you a link and pricing information for state records, and also links to all Texas County Vital Records Offices. It's an excellent resource page for birth certificates, marriage certificates, death certificates, etc.

Link of the Day - Find Lowest Gasoline Prices

GasBuddy seems to be one of the best of the sites that help consumers find low gasoline prices. Some of those sites are woefully outdated, but GasBuddy is pretty much up to the current day.

Link of the Day - Friday Fun

This Hallmark classic is a great depiction of an interview with an "Honest Boss."

Many SUV Headrests Fail To Protect Against Whiplash

As reported by Reuters, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety found only six seat and head restraint combinations in 44 SUV models earned good ratings for whiplash protection. None of the restraint systems in 15 pickup models posted good marks. Excerpts from the report:

"Manufacturer advertising often emphasizes the rugged image of SUVs and pickups. However, the institute's evaluations show seats and head restraints in many models wouldn't do a good job of protecting most people in a typical rear impact in everyday commuter traffic," said Adrian Lund, the group's president.

Seats in only six vehicles -- all SUVs -- earned the highest rating in the IIHS analysis, including the Ford Freestyle, Honda Pilot , Jeep Grand Cherokee, Land Rover LR3, Subaru Forester, and Volvo XC90.

Seats and head restraints in big SUV sellers like the Ford Explorer, Toyota 4Runner and Chevrolet TrailBlazer rated poor, as did the Chevy Silverado pickup and some seats in the Ford F-150 and Dodge Dakota pickups.

Neck injuries are the most-common serious injuries reported in U.S. car crashes, accounting for 2 million insurance claims totaling at least $8.5 billion annually, the insurance group said.

Link of the Day - Dead Cell Phone Zones

The Dead Cell Phone Zone site is interesting, if not especially useful. It lists, by carrier, areas of major cities where service is poor. For many of the reported "dead" areas, there is a note about an upcoming improvement in service. I guess if you were considering switching carriers, you could check this site to be sure your office and house aren't in a "dead zone."

Link of the Day - Leave Me Alone!

For those of us who are sick and tired of telephone solicitations and junk mail, here are two helpful sites.

DoNotCall is a government site where you can add your phone numbers to a Do Not Call list that telephone solicitors are supposed to honor.  The Direct Marketing Association has a similar site where you can ask that members of the association not send junk mail to your home or office, not phone you, and not send you e-mail.