Express Business News

By Tim Engstrom

tengstrom@news-press.com

People make themselves vulnerable to identity thieves almost daily and should accept some inconvenience to protect themselves, two law enforcement officials told a Naples audience Tuesday.

Even something as simple as dropping a bill into a home mailbox to be picked up by the postal carrier can be disastrous if a thief gets to that bill first, said Special Agent Steve Butcher, who is in charge of the Fort Myers field office of the U.S. Secret Service.

"Take your mail to the post office to mail it," Butcher said. "Don't give someone the chance to take it."

Butcher, along with Collier County Sheriff's Office Lt. Chad Parker, spoke to about 250 clients of Merrill Lynch at the Naples Beach Hotel & Golf Club.

The event was the first in a series of lectures organized by Merrill Lynch for the company's clients. A second discussion on identity theft is planned for today in Fort Myers.

"We are trying to do something out of the box about something that affects all of our lives," said Dan Grunau, managing director for the Merrill Lynch in Southwest Florida.

Grunau had a personal encounter with identity theft. Thieves used his personal information in 2000 to obtain a credit card and buy $25,000 in computer equipment, he said...

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