How to Protect Your Credit and Identity The Truth About Identity Theft

You may not notice it until it is too late. It could be affecting you as you are driving to work or watching a movie. What is it? Identity theft. There are many ways a thief can steal your identity that can be avoided.

San Diego, CA (PRWEB) October 14, 2006 -- Imagine trying to purchase that car or home that has been saved for. The money was saved quite a bit and with a great credit score, finance the rest is going to be easy - or will it? Paying your bills on time, having no debt may not be enough to secure a good credit score. In the worst cases, bad credit may even cost a person job opportunities. How is this possible? Two words: identity theft.

How Do They Do It?

In order to prevent identity theft from happening to, a consumer must first realize how it occurs. Identity thieves can access personal information in a variety of ways:

* Stealing records from businesses through hacking into computers or stealing records from their employers

* Rummaging through trash cans to obtain credit card and bank statement

* Obtaining credit reports by posing as a landlord, employer, etc.

* Stealing wallets, thereby obtaining credit cards, etc

* Stealing mail out of mail boxes (credit card applications, new checks, tax info, etc.)

* “Phishing” which means posing as the consumers bank or credit card representative and requesting verification of personal information.

Protect Oneself

Once thieves have personal information they can open credit cards and bank accounts under the consumers name and simply not pay the bill. They can also change the mailing address on cards that you already have in order to run up the balance without your knowledge. Additionally, thieves can give your name to police during an arrest.

Understanding how identity thieves operate what exactly they do with your personal information is the first step. Now a consumer can begin to protect themselves against identity theft. Debt-Free America weighs in on the topic of identity theft below, and offers some tips on how to protect individuals credit in the age of information.

* Put passwords on everything. And do not use passwords that an identity thief could guess such as a birthday or social security number.

* Get a home lock-box. Put all important documents in to that contain sensitive information including a social security card,

* Never give out information to people that have contacted directly. Only give out personal information of the individual has contacted them.

* Run a credit report yearly to ensure that nothing has changed. You can do this at www.annualcreditreport.com

* Shred any documents that have sensitive information before throwing them away.

* Protect information stored on your computer by:

* Updating virus protection

* Not downloading from strangers

* Using a firewall and secure browser

* Not storing financial information on your laptop

* Not using auto log in

* Reading website privacy policies

To ensure that an individual is not already a victim, first run a credit report. Thankfully, new laws were recently passed allowing consumers to get reports from all three bureaus for free on an annual basis. Anyone can obtain them online at www.annualcreditreport.com or by calling 1–888–5OPTOUT (1–888–567–8688).

The three major bureaus report different information, so it is important to review all three. Sometimes credit cards and other accounts show up on one report and not the other. The cost of a report depends on what state you live in, but they aren’t usually more than $12 or so. Once you have obtained a free report from the bureau, you will have to pay for any others you purchase within the next year.

Taking Back Your Identity

In the case that you do discover that someone has stolen your identity, the Federal trade Commission recommends four things that you should do right away:

1. Contact any one of the three major credit bu¬reaus to place a fraud alert on your file. The fraud alert requests that creditors contact you before opening any new accounts or making any changes to your existing accounts. As soon as the credit bureau confirms your fraud alert, the other two credit bureaus will be automatically notified to place fraud alerts, and all three credit reports will be sent to you free of charge.

2. Close the accounts that you know or believe have been tampered with or open fraudulently. Ask to speak with someone in the security or fraud department of each creditor, then follow up in writing, which is particularly important. Use the ID Theft Affidavit available at http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs when disputing new unauthorized accounts. For existing accounts, call the customer service dept. and ask them how to dispute charges.

3. File a police report. Get a copy of the report to submit to your creditors and others that may require proof of the crime.

4. File your complaint with the FTC. The FTC maintains a database of identity theft cases used by law enforcement agencies for investigations. Filing a complaint also helps the FTC learn more about identity theft and the problems victims are having so they can better assist you. You can file a com¬plaint at www.consumer.gov/idtheft or call toll-free at 1-877-ID-THEFT

WHAT:    

How To Protect Your Credit and Identity

WHO:    

Debt-Free America

* Nationwide non-profit community service organization

* Offers confidential and professional credit counseling

and debt management programs

WHEN:    

Interviews are available immediately and ongoing

WHERE:    

In-studio or phone interviews with local Debt-Free America counselors

Debt-Free America is a 501(c)3 non-profit, community service organization offering confidential and professional credit counseling, debt management programs, and financial education to consumers nationwide. Debt-Free America is dedicated to providing FREE services to help financially distressed families and individuals effectively manage their personal finances. The Board members and operations staff have a long-term commitment to helping anyone in debt crisis, and even those not in a debt crisis. Debt-Free America has been in the business since 1997 and is now serving over 16,000 clients nationwide.

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