Black Friday is just around the corner!  And whether that conjures up feelings of intense excitement or the urge to lose your lunch, the fact is you'll probably spend more time over the next few months than any other season wandering through crowded malls and surfing the web for the perfect gift. To an identity thief, this means one thing—extra opportunities to nab your credit card information and put a real damper on your holiday cheer! So be a smart shopper this year and take some additional precautions to protect yourself from identity theft and ensure your bank accounts, credit reports and credit scores stay safe and sound.

[caption id="attachment_1849" align="alignleft" width="300" caption=" "][/caption] I can't believe National Protect Your Identity Week is almost over. I mean, it's almost like it didn't even happen this year. Such a shame. I did make a noble attempt to keep the holiday spirit alive by wishing some random people in the grocery store a "Merry Protect Your Identity Week" last night, but I wasn't feeling the love. All I received in response were some awkward stares and a completely empty aisle to compare my cereal options in peace. Come on people! Don't you care about identity theft?

What's a college student to do when he's not old enough to buy a six pack of his favorite brew? He simply asks his older frat brother to buy it for him, of course. And now that the CARD Act restricts anyone under 21 from acquiring a credit card without an adult cosigner or proof of ability to pay, students are using the same old tactic in order to skirt the intent of the law.

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Dear Creditnet: I'm a cosigner on my son's credit card. I know, that may have been a mistake in the first place.

Recently, I pulled my credit report and found out that the account was maxed out, closed in March of last year, and then reported late for six months before he started making payments again. The account status is currently listed as "Pays As Agreed."

These are strange economic times we live in. I've heard others refer to it as the "new abnormal", alluding to the fact that their guess about where our economy's headed is basically as good as anyone's. And I have to agree—nothing seems to make sense anymore. People are walking away from their homes yet still vacationing and buying up the latest expensive Apple gadgets. Unemployment continues to hover around ten percent, yet I can't ever find a parking spot at the local mall. And the stock market...well, it's all over the place. Absolutely nuts! Federal Reserve Chairman, Ben Bernanke, may have said it best when he declared in July that our economic outlook is "unusually uncertain." Way to go out on a limb there Mr. Bernanke.  I don't know about you, but I've felt unusually uncertain for almost two years now.