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ID Theft Prevention
Identity Theft Prevention...
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Identity Theft. You are not Immune.
David Wilding
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As identity theft becomes more prevalent, the need to regularly check your credit report is very easy to see and understand. Two big headlines in the news recently point to how closely tied your credit report and identity theft are.
First, we hear of the troubles of Choice Point, a company involved in the storage and distribution of credit information. It appears some criminals set up a fake company and used it to obtain sensitive credit information. Then in turn they used it to steal the identities of about 750 people. That number will probably grow, since more than 500,000 people across the country have been put at risk.
Second, comes the story about missing computer tapes containing credit card records of more
than 1.2 million of Bank of America cardholders. Most of the accounts belonged to federal
government employees. This has placed the account holders in danger of increased risk of
identity theft.
Both of these companies are now in the process of notifying the people of their exposure. The
truly bad part of all the problems is these leaks and losses occurred months ago. These two
companies were not very quick in notifying the people affected. Way too much damage could
have been done before they had been alerted to the trouble.
While the headlines may change, the need to check your credit report does not. You may be very careful. You may shred your documents, the credit card and other financial solicitations you
receive in the mail. You may take great care how and where you give out your financial information. Unfortunately as these stories show, it may not be enough.
Identity theft affects about 10 million victims per year. It has been estimated to cost consumers
and businesses more than 50 billion dollars a year. It is easily among the fastest growing
categories of white collar crime. You need to do all you can to fight theft of your identity.
A new law has been put on the books by the Congress to help combat the losses. It allows the
you, the consumer to request a free credit report from the credit agencies once a year. You should not hesitate to take advantage of it. However, the law has a rollout feature which does not allow full access for all Americans until September 1 of this (2005) year.
While this is a step in the right direction, in typical fashion the government continues to leave the populace exposed. You should access your credit report much more often than once a year. If an identity theft takes place just after receiving the free credit reports, an enormous amount of damage can be done before you can review your next free report.
The Federal Trade Commission has put together a list of questions and answers concerning this
new law and the effect it will have on your credit report and your risk of identity theft. They can be helpful to you in determining your rights under the law
It makes sense to check your reports regularly, as often as, on a monthly basis. This may seem a
bit much to you, but just ask a person who has had their identity stolen how much hassle it is to take your life back. They will tell you it is well worth the effort. Let's face it, no one cares as much as you, about your credit record, and the damage that identity theft could cause in your life.
(c)2005 David Wilding
About the AuthorDavid Wilding has for the past ten years worked with groups and individuals to rid their lives of debt. Visit his site http://www.debtattack.com for more ideas, tools, and strategies for becoming debt free.
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http://www.aaarticles.com/article7125.html
| Identity Theft Prevention... |
Surging Losses, but Few Victims in Data Breaches
.... But while high-profile data breaches are common, there is no evidence of a surge in identity theft or financial fraud as a result. In fact, there is scant evidence that identity theft and financial fraud have increased at all. Even when computer networks are cracked into, and troves of personal information intentionally stolen, fraudsters can typically exploit only a tiny fraction of it. Source - NY Times (reg. req.)
Edentify Lands Significant Commercial Deal for Its Identity Management Solutions
In the past two years alone, there have been nearly 20 million victims of identity theft, totaling $56 billion in annual losses...
Laptop Theft Puts Millions At Risk
A security lapse by Nationwide Building Society may have put 11 million customers at risk of identity theft. The Financial Services Authority is investigating the incident after an employee's laptop...
Collecting tax bills is government's job
In the age of identity theft, people no longer have the assurance that all the personal and financial information they send to the government will stay with the government...
ID-THEFT ESTIMATES: insuring your identity
You've heard the horror stories about identity-theft victims spending many frustrating, costly hours trying to reclaim their financial lives.
Best banks for dealing with identity theft
A new report names Washington Mutual, Bank of America and JP Morgan Chase the banks that most effectively protect their customers against identity theft. Out of 24 of the top financial institutions...
Personal Security and Identity Theft Expert Touts GPS to Counter Laptop Theft
Pointing to MyLaptopGPS, an Oklahoma-based company that provides GPS tracking as a service, Robert Siciliano, a personal security and identity theft expert, encouraged organizations to stave off further portable computer thefts and losses by considering GPS tracking technology for their
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Identity Theft
Preventing Identity Theft
By Gary Gresham
Preventing identity theft is never foolproof but here are
some good tips that will make it more difficult for
anyone to steal your personal information.
The first and most important step for preventing identity
theft is keeping a close watch on all of your personal
information and your credit report.
Check your credit reports from all three bureaus at least
once a year. Once you get your credit report check
carefully to see that everything is accurate.
If you find an error, dispute it immediately so you can
protect yourself from fraud.
Quite often similar names and similar social security
numbers get mixed up, or worse, someone could have stolen
your identity.
Another good way of preventing identity theft is don`t
carry your Social Security card or anything with your
Social Security number on it in your wallet.
Keeping your social security number private is a critical
part of preventing identity theft.
Also, don`t keep your bank card pin number in your wallet
because it helps a thief who has stolen your wallet help
themselves to your cash at an A.T.M.
In this age of computer hacking, preventing identity theft
also applies to the Internet.
If you use the Internet, make sure all your security
software is up to date and be careful of Internet scams.
Remember, no legitimate business will ever send you an e-
mail asking you to confirm your personal identifying
information.
Preventing identity theft means you never give out
personal information unless you initiated the contact or
you`re absolutely sure who you`re dealing with.
Another good way of preventing identity theft is be
especially careful about divulging your credit card
number over the phone to telemarketers.
Often the only goal is to obtain your name, address and
credit card number.
If you have to give your credit card number over the phone
for a hotel or airline reservation, use a regular corded
phone as opposed to a cordless or cell phone.
Make sure you report any lost or stolen credit cards
immediately for preventing identity theft.
The bottom line is be careful about divulging any personal
information about you.
If you use these tips you`ll have a much better chance at
preventing identity theft before it happens.
Gary Gresham is a mortgage loan officer and the webmaster
for http://www.credit-repair-facts.com (http://www.credit-
repair-facts.com). He offers you credit information, debt
elimination programs and informative facts that gives you
the knowledge to correct your own credit and credit
report.
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... average of almost $6,500 per victim. Disturbingly, online identity theft losses more than doubled from 2004 to 2005. Since most U.S. financial institutions grant access to online accounts with only a ...
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... they suffer the financial losses. Many victims find they need ... by victims to regain their financial health was 175 hours. And ... Turn: Victims Speak Out on Identity Theft." May 2000. www ...
http://www.privacyrights.org/ar/id_theft.htm ... rabobank
... And because these e-mails look so official, up to 20% of unsuspecting recipients may respond to them, resulting in financial losses, identity theft and other fraudulent activity against them. You can ...
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... fraud up - Jan. 23, 2004 - Americans reported losses of $437 million last year to identity theft ... ... Theft: A Quiz for Consumers Identity thieves use many ways of getting your personal financial ...
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Identity Theft Prevention
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