Articles and Ideas March, 2008
In the United States, everyone has the right to contact the major credit agencies like Equifax, and ask them to put up a fraud alert. This alert means that you will have to be contacted whenever an application of credit is attempting to be put in your name. You can ask for a fraud alert but none of the companies have to comply.
A credit freeze, which was first allowed back in January 2003 to victims of identity theft, allows you to have much more control over your credit and its history. Once you place a credit freeze on ...
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Cleaning Up After the Crime
Once someone has found that they are a victim of identity theft, they may try to begin the long process of paper work and phone calls that is necessary to clear their good name. When they begin, hope is still present as they assume that everything will be cleared and automated. It will only take a few short days or weeks for the victim to learn that the burden of proof is on them.
When they contact a government agency to report the crime or to get help, they will be referred to another agency. While ...
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Stealing the Identities of Children
To an identity thief, there is nothing better than the profile of a child. They have a clean history that is free of debt, fraud and criminal activities. Even better, nobody will think to check their credit history - after all, they shouldn't have one! All the thieves will need is the social security number of a child and they can give themselves a new life. To them, it is like they can start over with a crystal clear government record.
Besides the fact that an identity thief can make good use of an identity that ...
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Protecting your identity and credit is absolutely critical, as nearly 25,000 people daily become victims of identity theft. People are losing their personal and financial information at alarming rates all over the country. According to Garter Research, the number of identity theft victims in 2006 has increased by 50% since the FTC reported 9.9 million in 2003.
In addition, the financial damages done to an ID theft victim are enormous. On average, thieves commit $5,700 in fraud per identity theft victim, and victims spend about 40 hours to clear their name, both through phone calls, filling out ...
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