Apr 18, 2010

Credit and Identity Theft: Simple Ways to Protect Yourself


Maintaining good credit takes work. You have to keep track of multiple due dates to make sure you pay on time; you have to keep track of your spending to make sure you stay within reasonable limits. You have to maintain the right credit mix between cards, loans, and other types of debt, all the while making certain that you don’t overspend or overextend yourself in the process. It’s a delicate balancing act that can be wiped out in a flash if your identity is stolen. Unauthorized charges and bogus credit accounts can ruin your credit scores in the blink of an eye. Fortunately there are a few simple things you can do to make it more difficult for predators and con artists to steal your identity and your hard-earned credit score.

1. Get Rid of Pre-approved Offers. You may not be interested in getting a new pre-approved credit card, but identity thieves are. While you can shred these types of unsolicited offers for new credit, a better option may be to stop them altogether. You can opt out of pre-approved offers by going to optoutprescreen.com to stop the credit bureaus from sharing your credit information with other companies.

2. Leave the Pin Number at Home. Never write the pin number to your credit or debit cards on the card, and never store pin numbers in your wallet or purse. Commit the pin number to memory instead. Try to choose something that is easy for you to remember but hard for others to guess. Change your pin number periodically – every 3 to 6 months – and don’t use the same pin number for every card.

3. Beware of Phishing. Emails that ask for personal information may seem to come from legitimate companies. However, it’s rare for any company to solicit personal information or account updates through email. If you are in doubt, contact the company directly –don’t use the links provided in the email, as they may direct you to a site that will steal your information.

4. Consider a Credit Freeze. If you aren’t planning on opening any new accounts in the near future, you can institute a credit freeze by contacting the credit bureaus. While under the freeze, your account won’t be visible to any lenders without your explicit permission. If you are in the military, you can request a special type of credit freeze that will prevent new accounts being opened in your name while you are abroad. Freezing your credit file typically costs a nominal fee if you aren’t already a victim of identity theft, so be sure to weigh the costs before your commit.

5. Use Credit Monitoring. The major credit bureaus have different types of credit monitoring available if you want to be able to keep track of potentially fraudulent activity. You can also monitor your own credit if you stagger your free yearly credit report. Each bureau is required to provide one credit report per year (sometimes more, depending on your state). By staggering your requests, you can get an accurate snapshot of your credit every 4 months.

Making it difficult for criminals to access your personal information is one of the best defenses against identity theft. Restricting access to your credit, when combined with proactive monitoring, can significantly reduce the chances that you’ll be a victim of identity theft. If you do notice something out of the ordinary, report it right away – your liability is limited to only $50 in most cases, but only if you report the suspected identity theft right away.

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Dec 14, 2009

Credit Repair and Identity Theft – How to Protect Yourself

When most people think of credit repair scams, what comes to mind are the fraudulent companies that take people’s money and provide little or no service in exchange. While it’s true that there are numerous credit repair scammers out there who thrive on this practice, consumers should also be aware of the threat of identity theft when it comes to fraudulent credit repair companies.  These companies not only take your money, but they take over your identity as well – months or even years down the line, when you’ve finally gotten your credit back on track, they can resurface to wreck havoc on your finances and destroy what you’ve worked to carefully rebuild.

Protecting Your Identity

Because credit repair companies must handle sensitive information in order to help you improve your credit scores, it pays to find out exactly how they secure your information, and what type of policies they have in place to protect your identity. Stay away from credit repair companies that don’t have a clearly visible privacy policy, and/or don’t have any method of contact other than email. Ideally, you want to be able to contact the company via telephone and an actual physical address – not just a P.O. Box. By establishing a physical presence that is easily located, a reputable credit repair company is one that will be around for the long-term.

Online Precautions

You should be able to get answers about the methods used to secure your data, about encryption on the company’s website (if they have one) and who has access to your data, and when. You should also be able to revoke access to this data at any time, if you choose to end your business relationship with the company. Check the security certificates of the website – they should be current, and they should match the name of the website and the credit repair company. Be wary of any company that has an invalid or expired security certificate – without a valid certificate, your information is not safe.

Company Policies

Different credit repair companies will have different policies when it comes to how your information is handled. You should find out who will have access to that information before you sign up for service. While the credit repair company may take appropriate security steps, third-party vendors with access to your information may not, and this can cause troubles with identity theft down the line, if unauthorized people are able to view your information.

The Final Choice

When deciding on which credit repair company to use, always factor in the security of your personal information. Credit repair can benefit you in many ways, including improved credit scores, lower interest rates and better rates on insurance to name a few. Always make sure that your final choice for credit repair is one that protects these benefits by protecting your identity as well.

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Nov 30, 2008

Identity Theft and Your Credit: Protecting Yourself Over the Holiday Season

The holiday shopping season is almost upon us, and with it comes the additional dangers of identity theft and credit card fraud. Unauthorized charges, opening new accounts, and transferring cash out of existing accounts are just a few of the ways that identity thieves can wreck havoc with your financial well-being. Though the consequences can be severe – a lower credit score, liability for bills and purchases you did not make, and loss of income – there are steps you can take to preserve your credit and avoid being a victim of identity theft. Here are a few tips to help you maintain your credit:

Online Monitoring – if your credit card company allows you to monitor your charges online, take advantage of that to keep track of your charges. Set up an email alert whenever your credit nears its limit, and check for unauthorized charges on a regular basis. Most credit card companies have a 0% fraud liability in place, but this only works on your behalf if you notice a suspicious charge and report it promptly – it can prove difficult to dispute a charge that you don’t notice until months later.

Set Spending Limits – don’t trust your credit card company to hold you to your credit limit. Many companies will allow you to go over your limit in charges, and then access an over-limit fee for each charge that is above your approved credit line. This could mean that a thief with your credit card number might still cash in, even if your cards are maxed out. The best way to handle this is to tell your credit card company not to allow courtesy over-limit spending. While it means you will have to be more careful about your own spending as well, it can prevent a host of problems with over-limit fees down the line.

Leave the Plastic at Home – unless you’re going on a major shopping spree, you probably don’t need every credit card you own in your wallet. Only take one or two, and you minimize your risk if your cards are ever lost or stolen. By keeping excessive cards out of your wallet, you may also cut down on impulse spending, which can help your budget and your credit score in return.

Be Smart about Online Shopping – only shop at reputable sites that you know you can trust. The holiday season is not the best time to be adventurous with online shopping. A merchant website can be up one day and gone the next, so be sure to deal with companies you can trust – and keep your anti-virus, firewall, and browser up-to-date to minimize security risks overall.

Consider Fraud Monitoring – if you can afford it, consider paying for a fraud monitoring service over the holiday season. This will make it simple for you to know if anyone has opened a new account in your name, or is making large purchases on accounts you may not have used actively in some time. Be sure to choose a reputable company, ideally one that will provide a monthly report, either through the mail or online, about your credit activity. Match what you see in the report to what you know you’ve charged, and if you notice discrepancies, contact your credit card company right away.

With credit card fraud and identity theft, the sooner the fraudulent actions are caught, the easier it is to straighten out any potential damage to your credit history. So be alert, shop safely, and always monitor your statements for unusual activity. If you follow these tips, you can enjoy your holiday shopping without worrying about a nasty New Year’s surprise on your credit score.

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Nov 7, 2008

How To Detect Identity Theft

A victim of identity theft may not realize that somebody is using their identity for months or even years later. Thousands of dollars worth of debt and financial ruin could be happening under the victim’s nose, while blithely enjoying a peaceful breakfast of Cheerios and the morning edition of the New York Times. Luckily, there are many indicators that can keep you from becoming Naive Joe Consumer, Identity Theft Victim. You just need to be on the prowl for such indicators at all times.

Where Did My Credit Rating Go?

The biggest, most obvious sign of identity theft would be when you are unexpectedly rejected when applying for extra credit, such as a credit card or loan. If you have always paid your bills on time, keep very low credit card balances, and have had credit for several years, there is no reason you should be denied a Sears credit card (or some other miscellaneous retailer).

A rejection might indicate that somebody has been doing something on your credit report of which you are unaware. You might want to get a free copy of your credit report as soon as possible and go over it with a fine-toothed comb.

Suspicious “Junk Mail”

Another good indicator of identity theft would be missing bills. The mailman is not perfect and one missing water bill is probably indicative of a haphazard postman and not identity theft. However, if you are missing several bills, it may be a concern. Purchase a post office box and change your addresses with the companies you do business with. Check with the credit bureaus and all of your creditors to see if anything suspicious has happened as of late. It would also not hurt to put fraud alerts on your credit report with all three credit bureaus, to protect yourself from any future damages.

Sometimes junk mail is just that…complete and total junk. But, if you start receiving innumerable credit offers and credit cards for which you never applied, it may be a good sign to start auditing that credit report. A trigger for credit offers often happens when a financial company requests and receives a copy of your credit report. If you did not authorize it, somebody else out there did. This is definitely a sign.

Should you receive an actual credit card, ask about the application. When you file a police report, alert the police of this incident. They may be able to track down your attacker based on the credit application. For example, if someone applied online for a credit card with your information, the IP address of the computer they used to apply will be stored with the creditor. This address could be used to track down the thief and charge them with a Class C felony.

Strange, Small Errors and Charges

The most common type of identity theft manifests itself as a few unauthorized debits, charges, or withdrawals with one of your financial institutions. No matter how small the unauthorized amount may be, contact your creditor. Often times scammers will make small charges to see if the card is “good” before they really go on a spending spree. A five minute call to your financial institution can launch a fraud investigation and prevent your account from further unauthorized transactions.

If you start receiving collection calls from representatives of companies you have never dealt with, immediately request a copy of your credit report. Alert these companies that the inquiries are unauthorized, as you have never dealt with them. The company may require something in writing stating that the charges are unauthorized. Comply with any requests as quickly as possible so you can return to restoring your credit.

It can be an intimidating thing if one or more of these things happen to you. Take the first step and do not let it “work itself out” (it won’t). Scammers are out there making a living by conning you out of your hard-earned cash, reputation, and accomplishments. Be proactive and do not let any resistance stop your goal of returning back to normal consumer life.

Source: CreditIdentitySafe.com, a site full of identity theft protection tips, warnings and scam alerts.

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Oct 5, 2008

Identity Theft, the Elderly, and Credit Concerns

Older Americans are often the target of many identity theft and financial scams. Sadly, the consequences for this particularly vulnerable group of Americans is just as severe as those for younger generations, if not more so. However, there are actions that older Americans can take in order to prevent identity theft and minimize the dangers of financial abuse and scams designed to take advantage of a senior’s good credit. Keep these tips in mind and your credit score is less likely to be damaged due to scams or fraud.

Avoid Giving Out Personal Information over the Phone

It seems like a simple rule to follow, but in the reality is that many times it can be difficult to know whether or not a business is reputable or not. Con artists sound just as sincere as customer service representatives, and it can be impossible to ascertain a company’s legitimacy over the phone. For this reason, unless the call is initiated by the elderly individual, and he or she knows exactly who she is calling and why, no personal information should be given out over the phone. This includes phone calls from supposed charities, banks, churches, and other ‘good-will’ organizations. If you really want to do business with the company or charity involved, look up the phone number yourself and initiate the telephone call – the offer will still be available, and you won’t have to worry about giving information to an unscrupulous caller.

Do Not Trust Links in Email

For those senior citizens who are tech-savvy, the web brings a whole new host of potential problems. Banks, investment groups, online merchants and other businesses frequently send out emails to those who have an account with them. However, many scam artists take advantage of this fact and use ‘phishing’ techniques to mimic company emails in an attempt to trick users into entering account or credit card information. The best safeguard against such practices? Don’t trust the links in email. If you receive a notice from a company that needs you to verify a credit card number or account information, call the company to confirm – almost always, these types of emails are a scam. Never use the links in an email; always type the address into the browser rather than following the emailed link.

Pay Careful Attention to Financial Managers

Sadly, most cases of financial abuse and identity theft are often perpetrated by close friends or family members. So pay careful attention to any business investments, new accounts, or other activities that are initiated on your behalf. Keep a copy of all transactions and pay attention to your credit report – if you notice accounts opened in your name that you do not recognize, take steps to protect yourself immediately.

Credit Repair Services Can Help

Elderly individuals are often at a disadvantage when it comes to damage to their credit score. This is because seniors often do not have the luxury of waiting 7 to 10 years for negative items on their credit report to be removed. Also, because of the fact that many seniors live on a fixed income, the need to have access to affordable credit lines is an important one. Credit repair services can help to undo the damages caused by identity theft and fraud, while giving back control to the victim.

Credit repair programs are especially helpful in those situations where the elderly individual needs guidance and assistance in order to understand the credit repair process, or in those cases where the elderly individual cannot act on his or her own behalf. Finding a reputable company that cares for its clients can go a long way to undoing the damage caused by financial fraud. Fortunately, there are many such companies available – so the elderly do not have to suffer in silence due to the fraudulent actions of others.

Posted in credit, credit repair services, email scams, financial scams, identity theft, phishing | No Comments »



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