With identity theft crimes continuing to rise, watching your credit report can help you make sure that no one is using your good name to do bad things.
Credit monitoring can’t actually prevent identity theft, but it can help you remedy the situation before it gets out of hand.
You typically pay a small monthly fee to your Bank or Credit Card Company for the credit monitoring service. A computer makes routine checks on your credit report to see if anything has changed. A credit monitoring service automatically notifies you by phone or e-mail every time the service detects something new on your report. This might include recent credit increase, accounts open, address changes or other new and unusual information that could be a sign of identity theft. If you know the activities are legitimate, you can simply ignore the alert. But, if you sense that something’s not right, you can take action immediately. Some credit monitoring services even guide you through the right channels to dispute the false information and clear your name.
Even if you don’t sign up for credit monitoring, make it a point to check your report on your own at least once a year at annualcreditreport.com
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As the number of cases of identity theft continue to rise, more and more people are interested in learning all that they can about this crime and about how they can protect themselves from being a victim. Below are three of the most commonly asked questions about ID theft.
How Can I Protect Myself?
This is probably the number one question that people have when it comes to ID theft. About a decade ago, people were still printing their social security numbers directly on their checks. While most people would no longer dream of being that careless with their personal information, there is a lot more to protecting yourself.
As technology improves, criminals are finding more ways to steal a person’s identity with less and less information. Some criminals have been able to start the process of stealing a victim’s identity with nothing more than their name, birth date and address.
There are many, many steps that one can take in order to try and protect their identity. The problem with most of them is that if you neglect to do one little thing, you can still become a victim. The good news is that there is one simple thing that you can do that can protect you from most of the problems associated with ID theft.
By putting a lock on your credit report, it will be virtually impossible for anyone to obtain credit in your name. That means that even if someone has all of your personal information that they still will be unable to use it to obtain credit cards, open bank accounts or get a loan.
You should not that should you want to apply for credit that you will need to take the lock off long enough for the potential lender to check your credit. Then you can put the lock right back on.
Of course, a lock on your credit will not stop anyone from using your name in other ways, such as to obtain employment or when dealing with law enforcement. For those reasons, you should still take other steps to protect yourself as well.
Aren’t Rich People the Only Ones that Need to Worry about ID Theft?
While this is a fairly common misconception, the answer is an emphatic NO. Victims of ID theft cross all socioeconomic lines, and everyone needs to take steps to protect themselves.
Sure, the stories about ID theft that make the news often involve people who were able to purchase million dollar homes based on someone else’s financial information. Unfortunately, for every one of those stories there are thousands about average people who were victims of this type of crime.
I’m a Victim. What Should I Do?
If you suspect you have become a victim of identity theft, you must act immediately. First, contact police to file a report. Next, contact all of the three major credit bureaus to inform them of your situation. They will place an alert on your credit report so that no further credit will be able to be obtained. While most lenders take heed of such alerts, some do not. You will need to start monitoring your credit very closely to make sure that no new loans or other types of accounts have been opened. You should also ask that a lock be placed on your credit, so that no one will be able to open any type of accounts in the future.
Next, you will need to send a letter to each of your legitimate creditors and those to which the criminal opened an account.
For your legitimate accounts, simply inform them that you have been a victim so that they can more closely watch for suspicious activity. For accounts that are not yours, you will need to send an affidavit in order to begin the process of having the items removed from your credit report.
Unfortunately, it can take months and even years to fully sort through the mess left behind by the person that stole your identity. You should keep a copy of the affidavit on your person at all times as it is not uncommon for these thieves to use someone else’s identity when they have run ins with law enforcement.
Obviously, the best thing that you can do when it comes to ID theft is try to ensure that it doesn’t happen to you. Put a lock on your credit and protect all of your personal information. Too many people become victims each year. Don’t be one of them.
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There is no doubt that identity theft is a huge problem in this country. If you have not spent any time thinking about how to protect yourself, then you need to start. The problems that come along with having your identity stolen can take years to fully correct. The loss of money and time can be hard to measure, and many victims have found themselves unable to purchase a home or a car as a result. Below are three tips for receiving the best ID theft protection possible.
1.Be Vigilant
The number of personal paper shredders sold in the United States has increased more than a hundred fold in the last five years. One of the main reasons for this is that people are being very protective of their personal information. All of your mail, including bills, credit card offers and bank statements, could provide a portal into your life should these documents wind up in the hands of an identity thief.
While, to some, it might seem like a bit much to take the time to shred all of your mail before throwing it away, it is that kind of vigilance that may stop you from becoming a victim.
The two tips below will stress the importance of getting help in protecting your identity from being stolen, but the task starts with you and your own actions.
The obvious moves, such as making sure that your social security number does appear on your checks and not giving out personal information over the phone, are just the tips of the iceberg. There are dozens of small steps that you can take to make sure that no one has access to sensitive information.
Among them: shredding your mail, frequently changing your online passwords and being sure to completely wipe your hard drive when selling or donating old computers.
Even if it feels like overkill, it is this type of care that will help you to protect your identity.
2.Don’t Do It Alone
While your own vigilance is one very important step in receiving the best ID theft protection, it is not the only step. Because there are so many possible ways for an identity thief to gain access to your information, it is almost impossible for you to remember to cover every base. That is why it is important to add the extra layers of protection available from any one of the companies that offer services designed to protect you.
One of the best ways that you can make sure that no one can open any types of financial accounts or take loans in your name is to put a lock on your credit report. Companies, such as Life Lock, handle this for you. For a small monthly fee they will lock your credit reports and monitor for unusual activity. They also provide reimbursement for any expenses should your identity be stolen.
In addition, services such as Life Lock also handle all of the leg work that is involved in working to get everything straightened out should your identity be stolen. That alone is worth the monthly fee to many, especially when you consider the hundreds – or even thousands – of hours it can take to get everything back in order.
3.Shop Around
While there are many companies that offer similar identity theft protection services, it is a good idea to shop around. In addition to pricing, you also want to take the time to fully compare all of the features and benefits offered by each of them.
Do not go just by what is listed on the website. Remember, what you see there is their sales material. Instead, you need to see the actual contracts from each company in order to make an informed decision.
Most will not send you a contract until after you have signed up. Because you are typically allowed to pay monthly and then cancel at anytime, sign up for more than one. Then, take your time reviewing the features of each as listed in the contract.
Once you have made your decision, just cancel the others. You will only be out one month’s fee for the ones that you cancel, but it is worth it to be able to know that you have selected the best identity theft protection.
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When most people think of identity theft, they think about home, cars and credit cards being purchased or obtained using their name and credit information. While this is certainly a big part of what identity thieves do, a criminal sees many other uses for your identity, and some could even land YOU in jail.
At any given time, there are millions of illegal immigrants that are working in the United States using a stolen social security number. Many of these men and women will never try to open a credit card or in any other way financially harm the owner of that social security number. They are even paying taxes on what they earn so no harm, no foul, right?
Wrong. While it may seem like no one is suffering from this crime, the fact is that there are some situations where the correct owner HAS been harmed. There has been at least one report of someone applying for a job and then being turned down because someone already worked there with her social security number.
While a problem like this can eventually be straightened out, there is no quick fix. It can take hours and hours of time on the phone and trudging down to the social security office to try and prove that you are, in fact, who you say you are.
To add insult to injury, the government is often aware that someone is using your social security number illegally, but they do nothing to notify you of the problem. Instead, they continue to collect the tax revenue from those using stolen identities.
Of course, the chances of you being turned down for a job like the woman in the example above is slim. But that does not mean that there is no danger involved in someone using your social security number to work. If someone has established an identity using your information, it would be quite easy for them to make the leap to opening credit cards and taking other types of loans in your name.
It is no surprise that this happens all of the time. People have their credit destroyed and may never even know about it until they go to apply for a loan or attempt to buy a house. Sadly, some of the victims are children.
Identity thieves love to steal the social security numbers of children because it is unlikely that they will be found out for many years. However, when that child does turn 18 and try to apply for his first credit card, he may be greeted by a very unpleasant surprise.
Many young adult victims have pulled their credit report for the very first time only to find it littered with late payments, collections and judgments. It can take months or even years to get everything straightened out.
While the above consequences of identity theft are frustrating and costly, they are not the scariest possibility. Imagine being pulled over for a minor traffic infraction. After the police officer runs your information, he comes back to the car and asks you to step out of the car.
You step outside and are informed that you are under arrest for an outstanding warrant. Because your children are with you, they have to witness you being put in handcuffs and placed in the back of a police car.
Of course, you will be protesting the entire time that they have the wrong person, but law enforcement professionals hear that all the time. It could take days in order to be able to have the original arrest documents pulled to prove that you were, in fact, the victim of identity theft and had nothing to do with the crime that was committed.
While your name will likely, eventually, be cleared, that is of little consolation to you or to your children for having been put through the ordeal.
Sadly, this happens more often that some people realize. If an illegal immigrant is working using your social security number, there is nothing to stop him from using your information should he have a run in with the law.
As you can see, what some may look at as a victimless crime can, in fact, have horrible consequences for the victim.
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Identity theft is an extremely fast growing crime. A few decades ago, there were only a handful of such cases reported each year. In one recent year, there were nearly 700,000 reported cases of identity theft.
Some people think that the biggest loss to those who suffer from ID theft is what they lose financially. They fail to consider the loss of time and reputation that goes along with it. It can take years to fully restore your financial reputation after suffering an ID theft.
It is so much more than someone just using your credit cards. The person who steals your identity may open new loans and credit cards, apply for jobs and even buy houses and cars. Sometimes such activity goes undetected for years.
Typically it is discovered when the victim tries to buy a home or car and is turned down because their personal credit has been destroyed. Another even scarier thought is that sometimes the thief uses the stolen identity when they have run-ins with the law.
Innocent people have been arrested because there were warrants for their arrest caused by the actions of the person who stole their identity. The onus will be on you to prove you were not the one who committed the crime.
While there are simple steps that you can take to make you less of a target for identity theft, it is important to realize that criminals are usually one step ahead of the game. They have more inventive ways to steal your identity and even some people who have taken all of the suggested precautions have become victims.
The cost of recovering from ID theft can be in the thousands of dollars, and that does not include the time that you lost trying to repair your credit and prove that actions taken by the criminal were not taken by you.
It is a frustrating process made even more maddening by the amount of proof that you must often find a way to furnish in order for someone to believe you. There are, however, ways that you can truly minimize your risk and the headaches should you become a victim.
Consider locking your credit report. When you lock your credit report that means that no one – including you – can access your report for any reason. This action prevents an identity thief from opening any new credit card accounts or making any type of purchases in your name.
However, depending the amount of your personal information that the thief has, he could still use your identity in other ways such as to obtain employment or during encounters with police.
There are identity theft prevention services that you can enroll in. There is a small monthly fee, which varies based on the provider that you choose. The fee includes locking your credit report and monitoring for any unusual activity.
Most also include a benefit that states that if your identity is stolen that they will handle all of the leg work needed to restore your good name. Also, there is usually a dollar amount that you will be reimbursed for any money that you lost as a result of the identity theft.
Here are some other steps that you can take to help ensure that you do not become a victim of identity theft.
- Monitor Your Accounts – Pay attention to your bank account balances and credit card statements. Immediately notify the proper people should you see any unusual activity.
- Go Paperless – Often, identity thieves will steal your mail or rummage through your trash as a way to collect information that they need to steal your identity. Consider canceling all paper bills and statements and instead use electronic versions of these documents.
- Credit Monitoring – Sign up for a service that alerts you anytime there is activity on your credit report. For less than $10 per month, you will be notified via email anytime someone applies for an account or that there is a change in balance on any of your existing accounts.
AS mentioned above, even with the best preventive measures in place, an identity thief can still break through the barriers. By monitoring your financial information, you will at least be able to catch him as soon as he starts which will minimize the amount of damage an identity thief is able to do to your good name.
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