Preventing Identity Fraud Free Credit Reporting Credit Reports In general, your credit report has four components: Identifying information, such as your name, Social Security number, current and previous addresses, telephone number, birth date, and employer. This information helps ensure that your credit report is accurate and doesn't mistakenly include details about another person (perhaps someone with the same name). Public record information, generally gathered from local courthouses, including bankruptcy records, foreclosures, tax liens, court-ordered payments, and late child-support payments. This information is used to determine if you have previous defaults or legal judgments against you. For example, a mortgage lender will want to know if you've had a past foreclosure before granting a home loan. Derogatory information can generally remain on your credit report for up to seven years, except for bankruptcy information, which may be reported for 10 years. Other credit history information, such as a list of your credit cards and loans, and whether payments were on time. Here, too, negative information about your credit relationships, such as late payments or defaults, will remain on your report for up to seven years, and bankruptcy information may appear on your report for 10 years. "Inquiries," a section of your report that lists the creditors, insurance companies or other parties that have requested your credit report, usually when considering an application you submitted. Inquiries typically can remain on your credit report for two years Free Annual Credit Reports The three nationwide consumer reporting companies (credit bureaus) have set up one central website, toll-free telephone number, and mailing address through which you can order your free annual report. To order, click on www.annualcreditreport.com, call 877-322-8228, or complete the Annual Credit Report Request Form and mail it to: Annual Credit Report Request Service, P.O. Box 105281, Atlanta, GA 30348-5281. The form can be printed from www.ftc.gov/credit. Do not contact the three nationwide consumer reporting companies individually. They are only providing free annual credit reports through www.annualcreditreport.com, 877-322-8228, and Annual Credit Report Request Service, P.O. Box 105281, Atlanta, GA 30348-5281. Credit Card Fraud As soon as you realize you are a victim of credit card fraud, you should: Contact the three major credit reporting agencies to notify them of the problem and provide as much evidence as you have. Ask them to log the theft and remove the fraudulent information from your credit record. call Equifax at (800) 525-6285, Experian at (888) 397-3742, and Trans Union at (800) 680-7289. Request that a "fraud alert" be placed on your credit report. This will alert any credit provider to contact you before issuing a new credit card. Call and then write each agency. Trans Union, Fraud Victim Assistance Department P. O. Box 6790 Fullerton, Calif. 92834 Call (800) 680-7289. Equifax P. O. Box 740241 Atlanta, Ga. 30374-0241 Call (800) 525-6285. Experian P. O. Box 1017 Allen, Texas 75013 Call (800) 301-7195. Request a copy of your credit record from each agency. This is a free service for victims of fraud. The nearest office of the Consumer Credit Counseling Service may be able to give you advice on removing fraudulent claims from your credit report. Call 800-388-2227. After you've dealt with the credit reporting agencies, you need to deal with the credit card issuers. Call your credit card issuers to cancel your credit cards. Cancel them with the status "Account closed at customer's request." If you allow the closing status to be "Card lost or stolen" the "lost" part could place blame on you. Request new cards with different credit card numbers. Follow up in writing with the details of each card you wish canceled. Call each company that issued a fraudulent credit card to obtain a copy of the signed credit card contract. You must have this document to prove you did not authorize the issuance of the card and are therefore not responsible for the charges. You may have difficulty locating the person authorized to send you a copy of the contract, but be persistent. Follow up in writing to the address given for "billing inquiries," not the address for sending your payments. Call each company that issued a fraudulent credit card to request their procedures for handling fraudulent accounts or charges. They may require a signed affidavit of fraud, police reports, or other documents. Cooperate with these procedures to expedite their bureaucratic process. Once they acknowledge fraud, ask them to send the three credit reporting agencies a letter confirming the fraudulent activity. Notify each company that issued a fraudulent credit card that the card is, indeed, fraudulent and charges against that card are fraudulent.Continue calling each company that issued a fraudulent credit card to track their progress in their investigation. Identity Theft Protection If you are serious about protecting your credit and want identity theft coverage, you can examine Privacy Matters 1-2-3 Identity Theft Protection Service. This resource provides: Triple Bureau Credit Monitoring provides automatic alerts when activity is detected to your credit files at all three credit bureaus FREE 3-in-1 Credit Report and Triple Score — get unlimited online access to your 3-in-1 Credit Report and Triple Score, which merges your credit information and scores from all three credit reporting bureaus into one easy-to-read report Online access to FICO® Scorewatch, which automatically notifies you of changes to your FICO® score — at members-only rates Unlimited, toll-free access to Credit Report Customer Service Enroll in Identity Theft Restoration Services — at no additional cost to you Check out Privacy Matters 1-2-3 Identity Theft Protection Service today. Prevent Identity Theft Your Social Security number is the main key to your credit safety. Anyone with your Social Security number (SSN) can easily create a credit nightmare that will take years to resolve. What steps should you take to protect your Social Security number? Never carry documents containing your Social Security number. This includes your Social Security card as well as many insurance cards. Never give your Social Security number to anyone by telephone, even if you make the call. Avoid having your Social Security number used for IDs at work. Request a different number if possible. Avoid using your Social Security number as your drivers license number. Request that your Department of Motor Vehicles use an alternative number; most states will provide one. Do not pre-print or write your Social Security number on your checks. Ensure that those requesting your Social Security number are doing so for legitimate reasons, not merely bureaucratic reasons. Request a copy of your Social Security Personal Earnings and Benefit Estimate Statement at least every three years to make certain the information in the file is correct. Contact the Social Security Administration at (800) 772-1213 to learn how to order this free report. Problems You Can Encounter My wallet was stolen in December 1998. There’s been no end to the problems I’ve faced since then. The thieves used my identity to write checks, use a debit card, open a bank account with a line of credit, open credit accounts with several stores, obtain cell phones and run up huge bills, print fraudulent checks on a personal computer bearing my name, and more. I’ve spent the last two years trying to repair my credit report (a very frustrating process) and have suffered the ill effects of having a marred credit history. I’ve recently been denied a student loan because of inaccurate information on my credit report. From a consumer complaint to the FTC, February 22, 2001 I’m tired of the hours I’ve spent on the phone and all the faxing I’ve had to do. When will it be over? From a consumer complaint to the FTC, March 13, 2001 Tomorrow is Sunday so we won’t get any notices, but I’m not looking forward to Monday’s mail. From a consumer complaint to the FTC, November 13, 2001 How can someone commit identity theft? The Federal Trade Commission explains how identity theft is committed: By co-opting your name, Social Security number, credit card number, or some other piece of your personal information for their own use. In short, identity theft occurs when someone appropriates your personal information without your knowledge to commit fraud or theft. Once identity theft is committed, then what? Once identity thieves fake your identity, they: Open a new credit card account, using your name, date of birth, and Social Security number. When they use the credit card and don’t pay the bills, the delinquent account is reported on your credit report. Call your credit card issuer and, pretending to be you, change the mailing address on your credit card account. Then, your impostor runs up charges on your account. Because your bills are being sent to the new address, you may not immediately realize there's a problem. Establish cellular phone service in your name. Open a bank account in your name and write bad checks on that account. More information is available here about: How to commit identity theft How to prevent identity theft Help for victims of identity theft Back to the main page of Identity Theft Identity Theft Repair How To Know If Someone Is Stealing Your Debit Card Number Identity Theft Bank Account Identity Theft Check Identity Theft Check How To Commit Credit Card Fraud Identity Theft Common Mistakes How To Access Credit Card Accounts Identiy Theft Identity Theft Help Copyright © 2004-2010 Robert Sherman