Everyone loves lists–number one restaurant, favorite food, top ten travel vacations–the list is endless. And everyone enjoys being at the top of the heap, well, most everyone. Unfortunately, the state of Arizona has the dubious distinction of also ranking at the top of a list: according to the findings of the Federal Trade Commission, Arizona has ranked a solid #1 for identity theft out of all fifty states for a number of years. Not exactly a statistic you’ll find in Chamber of Commerce brochures throughout the state.
Also, identity theft is not at the top of the list of reasons for wanting to move to the state of Arizona. Unless, of course, you happen to be Kristine Novinskie. Chances are you won’t find another person amongst the 6,392,000 people living in the Grand Canyon state that used the high incidence of identity theft as a reason to move here—at least not legally. Applying an entrepreneurial spirit, Kristine, a Colorado native, moved from Grand Junction, Colorado to Lake Havasu City in February of 2011. “When I saw the numbers for identity theft in Arizona I knew it was a place that I needed to be,” Kristine stated.
The reality is that Kristine has always had a true entrepreneurial spirit. Back in Colorado she owned a successful hair salon keeping herself and 6 other stylists busy. “I always enjoy talking with people. Doing hair allowed me to learn about people while helping to change their appearances. My clients, my friends, always felt better about themselves after visiting my salon and having a haircut, perm or some other service that made them look and feel better about themselves,” Kristine noted.
It was through her business that Kristine learned about the need for an attorney as well as protection from identity theft. “I signed up for a protection plan that also provided access to attorneys, and they were very helpful in running my business.” From there Kristine soon learned that her friends and clients help with identity theft issues. “I did my research and soon became an independent associate for Legal Shield and through word of mouth started signing up my hair salon clients.” Kristine found that she had real answers for peoples problems, and soon her income marketing legal and identity theft plans soon equaled, then exceeded, her income from her hair salon. Within a year, Kristine traded her scissors and perm rods for a career change helping people deal with identity theft issues — the fastest white collar crime ever to hit North America. “It was hard to do, many of my clients had been having me cut their hair for well over a decade.”
Now a Certified Identity Theft Risk Management Specialist, Kristine spends her time educating people about the risks, “Before I helped people feel better about themselves by changing their outward appearance, now I do the same thing, but I help them from the inside out by giving them hope and piece of mind that if they have a legal or identity theft issue, there are solutions, and that gives me a great feeling inside.”
What’s The Deal With Identity Theft? Anyone wanting to know more about how they can protect themselves and their family from identity theft can contact Kristine for solutions. Kristine’s office is located in the Springberg McAndrew building at 430 El Camino Blvd., and can be contacted at Identity-heftLady@hotmail.com.