I want as many people as possible to be able to read my books and to enjoy them. Like so many other authors, I am sure that a portion of this drive is fed by my ego. Consequently it is no surprise that when people who claim to have read your book, spend the time to locate you, and to ask you for an autograph, or to sign their copy of your book, you are more than happy to comply. It was only recently, that reality forced me to reappraise this process. Although the outcome was not as drastic as it could be, it was still enough to make me aware that not everyone who claims to appreciate your efforts is sincere. A person, who shall remain nameless throughout this piece, recently stopped me and asked me to autograph a copy of my latest publication. As any fledgling author would be, I was more than happy to accommodate a reader of my works. Without thinking or considering any nefarious in tent, I quickly pinned a message in the text to a wonderful individual, that I hoped had enjoyed reading my book. It would be some weeks later before an enterprising official in the small township where I live would become suspicious of the same individual attempting to file a quitclaim deed on property in my name. Oddly enough, the signature appeared to be authentic, the only problem in this case was the ethnicity of the individual. I am black, and this individual was not. But for this one small detail, I might have found myself the owner of several large debts many months from now with little recourse in getting rid of them. Since that time I have begun to look into laws involving identity theft and have become concerned at how rapidly this phenomena is growing, and how little protection there is for persons who may be a victim of this act. I believed that my bank would protect me if my credit card were used fraudently. My recent research has put to rest that urban myth. If you do not report the the fraudulent charges within 60 days, the bank will enforce regulation E, which requires you to be responsible for the debt whether you have signed a document for it or not, whether you actually had obtained the money, or not, and even if it was in a state that you had never visited. If you report the fraud after 60 days you own the debt. This becomes doubly unsettling, when you realize that most people do not become aware of identity theft for least 12 to 14 months after it has occurred. I somehow think that I have awakened in the twilight Zone. Needless to say I have spent a great deal of time researching the matter and trying to find solutions to protect myself. I do not want to be the bearer of bad news, but we all or at risk in today's world. If you haven't thought about this matter, is time that you did. I was lucky in the initial case, but I cannot count on that luck in the future. For those who might be interested in finding out more about how to protect themselves in this area, I am posting a website with additional information.  Go to: www.prepaidlegal.com/hub/arthur37

There is a wealth of information there.