So much talk happens surrounding online Identity Theft, that people often forget about how Identity Theft can take place in the real (physical) world.

If I am a real-world identity thief, and I don’t want to use real methods (instead of virtual methods like hacking) one of the tools I have in my arsenal of ways to get your information is to use the United States Postal Service.

Now you might think this is as simple as just locking your mailbox, but that won’t help you in this situation. One thing that identity thieves can do is actually go to the post office and have your mail put on hold and pick it up themselves.

The I-864 Affidavit of Support form is used in the immigration process to verify an applicant’s self-sufficiency. In other words the Government doesn’t want any more welfare “leeches”. My husband and I received this application about a year after we’d first applied for a family-based visa. In most cases the I-864 is the final form to be approved before the interview and medical examination. I remember paying several hundred dollars just for the filing fee, and then there is a waiting period of who knows how long before you get a notice of approval.

Once you decide to form a corporation for your business entity, you will quickly be faced with another question. Should the corporation pay taxes as a “C” or “S” corporation?

There is a lot of confusion when it comes to the tax designation of a corporate entity. The first thing to understand is a corporation is a “C” designation by default. As a “C” entity, the corporation will file and pay its own taxes with profits and salaries being paid out to employees and shareholders. Since the employees and shareholders have to pay personal taxes on the distributions, “C” corporations are considered double taxation entities. This is generally viewed as a negative thing.