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Posts Tagged ‘Identity theft’

Too often you hear the complaint that a credit monitoring service is billing whether the customer wants the service or not. This is a shame, and it is ironic that one of the reasons you want the service is to find and remove erroneous debt items on your report.

One common solution to this is to use a debit card rather than a credit card when you purchase a service. If a service continues to bill after you’ve finished with the service, you can always cancel the debit card.

Canceling a credit card can have a negative impact on your credit file though. Using a debit card saves you this headache.

Advantages and Disadvantages

Oftentimes credit monitoring services are considered an expensive waste of time. Oftentimes you can accomplish just as much towards fixing your credit on your own not spending any money.

On average, a credit monitoring service will cost about $10 per month, per report. It is true sometimes that can monitor your own credit report for less than the average cost of these services.

However, sometimes people like the peace of mind of hiring a professional service and/or online software to do this action for them. Besides, you may want to receive reports from all three agencies at once.

With many monitoring services all three reports are included, but you may be required to request all of them at once. At the very most it could cost you about $36 a month or $432 a year to do this, unless of course you receive discounted prices as mentioned above (approximately $10 per month).

Regardless of what you pay, what you would receive for that $432 per year varies. It depends upon the services that you choose. However, in general you can expect that you’ll be alerted if someone applies for new credit.

You also have the luxury of being told if something suspicious turns up on your credit report. Most monitoring services also come with identity theft insurance that will help you recuperate the costs necessary to repair any errors that occur.

You also have the option to use one of a variety of identity theft services. On the other hand, you can monitor your own credit report even for as low as $8 per report.

You may have to do a little bit more work when you monitor your own report. However, you can save some money.

On the other hand, many people find that the expense of a monitoring service is much easier. They would rather pay this extra fee than monitor their own credit reports.

There is one main advantage of seeking a free credit report. This would be to spot cases of identity theft early. An additional benefit would be to spot errors right away and to have them fixed.

Countless stories have probably been told by now telling the advantages of a free credit report. However, this one seems to stand out the most:

It is the one about Sylvia Gallow-Vazquez that has circulated the web the past few years. It tells how she applied for a Discover card and then was turned down. She wondered through all of this how such a thing could be possible, because her credit rating was considered to be “impeccable.”

Now, learning of all kinds of unauthorized transactions and identity theft is never fun. This could appear on your credit report all too often. This is what happened to Gallow-Vazquez.

She obtained copies of her credit report after being denied a Discover Card. This is when she first learned she was defrauded.

It was no fun to find out that that her name was used against her for utility services as well as for car and home loan applications. It was also no fun for her to find out she had a two years worth of additional unauthorized transactions such as Internet and phone services affecting her credit report.

However, it is probably safe to say that Sylvia Gallow-Vazquez was quite relieved to find this out when she did. If she had never gained access to her credit report she would have never known so she is glad she did.

Finding negative remarks on her bill was the first step towards change. The next step would be to place alerts on the files and the earlier identity theft is detected the better.

In the case of Sylvia Gallow-Vazquez and similar situations it can take quite awhile to have all these negative marks removed. However, it never is too late to fix your situation.

While trying to seek your credit report there are a number of ways that unscrupulous thieves can take advantage of you. They will find any way to steal your identity and one way would be for them to offer fake “free credit report” opportunities.

The main way they get you is to require a credit card even if it is supposed to be a free trial. However, sometimes they try to cancel and put additional charges on top of the ones you already made.

They also then try to make it difficult for you to cancel your free trial. Then you are stuck paying probably for additional services you no longer even want.

Prevention Tips

Make sure you go to a recommended source to obtain a free credit report. Annual Credit Report.com is probably your best choice, but any comparable to this that are reputable would be fine.

If you must use a credit card because you think the additional credit monitoring services may help you then keep the following in mind:

• Never sign up unless you know the server is secure. This will prevent third-party fraud.
• Never give your credit card number to a company that you do not recognize. This will reduce risk of later becoming the victim of unauthorized charges.
• Make sure you verify the name of the company providing credit report monitoring services. Verisign seal information is one way to do this, or you could check with the Better Business Bureau if you have any doubts.
• Only fill out the information that is required. Be very careful about to whom you give your social security card, driver’s license, birth date, and other information.
• Do not pay for any services you could get for free. For instance, you can have free fraud alerts placed on your annual credit report.

The reason people hire a credit repair attorney (a.k.a. debt attorney) is to help them work out their financial situation. However, in this case it is more than that. They usually are on the verge of or are already in legal trouble.

The Role of a Credit Attorney

A basic service provided by a credit repair attorney is this: to answer common questions about budgeting and crediting as well as legal rights pertaining to debt negotiation.

They also help assess length of time needed to repair credit. They also negotiate in the event a client is in legal trouble and is facing judgment or lawsuit.

While helping a client who is facing legal troubles, they also present a variety of payment options. Often people in debt are spared the plight of bankruptcy but even if this action is necessary a debt attorney is the ideal professional to turn to.

Another major issue is victim rights. Often if there are negative marks on a credit report that are not the fault of a consumer this can be reversed. A debt attorney may help individuals find a way to deal with it and/or at least help the person right letters of request.

The letters of request would be for alerts. It would also be to have negative marks on their credit to be taken off. Usually there is a process of proving that the identity theft did take place, which involves tracking unauthorized usage of personal and financial info.

Sometimes a credit repair attorney can also help fix honest mistakes. For instance, maybe a creditor may have forgotten to mark a balance paid and you have proof that you have paid it.

If you show the person representing you all relevant receipts and records, it can help get your report corrected much faster. This will help you on your way to obtaining better for yourself in the future.

You never can be too careful when using the Internet. This is evident in the number of identity theft cases that take place annually-and even daily, weekly, and monthly. This pertains to making purchases as well as using free credit report services and shopping in traditional stores.

Statistics

According to Better Business Bureau and Javelin Strategy & Research, over 9 million cases of identity theft crimes have taken place now for two years in a row. Within the past five years there have been a total of over 30 million victims, as reported by agencies such as the FTC and BBB.

Some more interesting facts you might want to know can help you be safer. Take a look below:

• About 71% of fraud occurs within a week of someone’s personal identification being stolen. Sometimes the crime takes place almost immediately if it is a credit card being used that was stolen.
• Although online identity theft is on the rise, only about 11% of identity theft crimes originate here. Stolen wallets and physical documents make up for about 43% of all identity crimes.
• The breakdown of identity theft cases is as follows (2009): 26% credit card fraud, 18% utilities fraud, 17% bank fraud, 12% employment fraud, 5% loan fraud, 9% government fraud, 13% other. This of course are approximate numbers and 2010 stats are going to be different.

Ways Identity is Stolen

Your personally identifiable information can be stolen in a variety of different ways. Your credit cards and/or credit card digits is one of the most common forms of identity theft. This takes place as fraudulent websites set them selves up appearing as a legitimate company.

This often is the case when ordering a free credit report, which when it is legit can save you from credit card/identity fraud. However, if you enter information into a fake free credit report site you are in trouble, especially if you are entering credit card numbers or other personal data over a server that is not secure. Your financial and personal information is then stolen.

Also, numerous traditional brick-and-mortar stores are sometimes careless about asking for a picture I.D. when a purchase is made. So, when someone uses a stolen credit care it often passes through electronic credit card systems.

However, it is not just physical credit cards and credit card numbers that are stolen and exploited. Driver’s license and social security cards and numbers, birth certificates and birth dates, banking account numbers and checkbooks, and even credit reports are stolen.

Why Identity is Stolen

It is done for a variety of reasons. One of these reasons is to secure a home loan and another is to apply for a job, or to be able to find a way to have a utility or phone line turned on (i.e. using a child’s name). It could be even done to get away with committing a crime.

Identity theft is a serious matter and regular monitoring by way of a free credit report is one way to combat this problem. The frequently asked questions covered here will educate you more on how to use a free credit report and will help you understand your rights and responsibilities as indicated by the Fair Crediting Report Act (FCRA).

What is identify theft?

This may seem like a basic question, but since not everyone has been a consumer for very long they may need to really know what exactly is identity theft. This is the act of stealing someone’s photo I.D., birth certificate, social security number, credit card number, school records, driver’s license number, or even credit history in order to impersonate someone else.

Why would someone steal someone else’s identity?

Usually they may do it in order to obtain something they otherwise could not. For instance, someone might get into a school because they represent themselves by names on stolen school records. Someone may have obtained a car loan by using someone else’s social security number. The most common reason why people steal someone’s identity is to make online purchases.

How can theft of personal records be prevented?

Whenever possible, please make sure you shred all personal documents that might have vital information on it such as birth date, social security number, or driver’s license number on it. You can also have your financial history monitored by requesting a free credit report instantly online.

What is a fraud alert?

This is a procedure used to protect a person who has had their personal information stolen for some financial purpose. This lets the credit reporting agencies know that someone may be using your financial information without your permission.

How can I get a free credit report?

All you need to do is sign up with a service online that you can trust. You are allowed one copy of all three nationwide credit bureaus (Experian, Equifax, or TransUnion) if you have received an initial fraud alert. You can also receive additional copies (up to two per year) in case an extended alert is placed.

How many free credit reports am I allowed to have per year?

It depends upon how many fraud alerts you have on your file, or what type. For the initial fraud alert you are allowed one copy every 12 months, and then for the extended fraud alert you are going to be allowed two per every 12 months.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) alerts consumers about access to free credit reports. This information pertains to the fact that according to the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) you are entitled to one free credit report every 12 months.

However, you should also know that you are actually entitled to one report from each of the three agencies, not just one report total every year. Therefore, you can receive a copy of your payment histories and other vital financial records as kept by Equifax, Experian, and TransUninon.

Additional FTC Guidelines

In addition to the above, you are also entitled to the following:

• Accuracy and privacy of the information kept about you
• The right to know if someone has stolen your identity
• Immediate access to your credit report if you file online
• To receive your requested report within 15 days if you want it mailed to you
• Right to a free report if you are unemployed and looking for work within 60 days
• Right to investigation in case of an error
• Opportunity to dispute your case when necessary
• The right to know if anyone has obtained an unauthorized copy of your financial records

FTC Function

The Federal Trade Commission works to prevent consumer fraud. They also fight against unfair and deceptive business practices, including false advertising. They also help consumers remain aware of problems and thus teach buyers and sellers to avoid being a victim of fraud.

The FTC also helps people file complaints in the event a company or individual has wronged them in some way. This organization deals with all types of consumer-related scams, including falsified records, fake credit report fraud, and credit card identity theft.

Consumers Beware!

The Internet has given rise to many fraudulent websites claiming to offer you a free credit report instantly. While some of these sites are very helpful, you need to watch out for any sign of a stolen identity.

WARNING: If you seek a credit report instantly online, make sure you know whom you are dealing with. This is especially important if you are signing up for a free trial of a credit monitoring service.

Remember, you should know what you are getting yourself into and who you are dealing with at all times. This is not to make you paranoid but rather to make you aware.

Use the Internet with caution when seeking a free copy of your financial history. Your financial future greatly depends upon taking proper precautions.