What
to do After Identity Theft Occurs
We
Couldn't Stop at Just The
10 Best Tips for Identity Theft Prevention
So We Keep Adding More and More
To Keep You A Step Ahead.
Bookmark Us Now
|
Free
Credit Report
Nothing
held back:
See where your credit stands
by viewing the same type of information lenders and
creditors see! more...
Stay
better informed:
Try for better interest rates
and terms on loans and credit cards, armed with your
important credit information! more...
Getting
the facts:
Check for possible inaccuracies
or signs of potential Identity Theft! more...
|
Privacy
Matters
Privacy
Matters 1-2-3:
Your
special, Privacy Matters 1-2-3 members-only benefits
includes Triple Bureau Credit Monitoring — you’ll
receive automatic alerts when activity is detected
to your credit files at all three credit bureaus.
more...
Know
what is yours:
No one should know your credit better than you. Get
your 3-in-1 Credit Report and Triple Score today and
find out how credit-worthy you are. The higher your
score, the brighter your financial future. more...
|
Lexington
Law
How
it works:
The
lawyers of Lexington Law will fight to remove negative
items from your credit reports, so you can improve
your credit score, and start living life without limitations.
more...
What
you get:
Along with outstanding client support, their service
includes unlimited disputes and deletions. Lexington
will not rest until you are satisfied with your credit
report results. more...
|
How
Can I Prove I'm Really Me?
Maybe
in the future we can step up to an "eye scanning
machine" that has your iris pattern on file, or offer
your fingerprints at the grocery store, unless you get
a cut or burn on your finger recently and then can't buy
groceries until it heals up. Step in line to get a chip
implanted under your skin, or have dental scans at each
purchase, and we all end up glowing so that at night we
have new problems, keeping flying bugs from circling us.
All
kidding aside, there is not a national method to prove
you are who you say you are. One method to assist in this
is to have a current utility bill or other proof of current
address with your name and or photo on it. A Government
issued document with a photo i.d. Actually the requesting
merchant may have their own list of documents they deem
necessary, and they can provide that at the time of question.
Do
not carry "original" documents such as birth
certificate or social security number card on you at all
times. You can provide that later if required, and then
return it safely and quickly to a secure location. Although
any of these items can be stolen and attempted to be used
as proof of identity by the Identity Theft, and no such
plan is fail-safe, there is much risk involved by them
presenting these documents and being caught.
These
items could be:
-
An
original certified birth certificate
-
Your
original social security card
- Valid
U.S. passport
- Valid
U.S. military identification card or discharge record (DD-214)
- Driver's
License with Photo
After
Identity Theft Has Happened
1.
Don't Run Out and Change Your Social Security Number.
It's happened...you find yourself a victim of identity
theft. As frustrated as you are and as violated as you
feel, you want to begin again with a clean slate, with
no more problems, no more trying to fix a damaged credit
history, and no more trying to prove you really are who
you say you are. But there is a sobering reality...YOU
STILL HAVE THOUSANDS OF DOCUMENTS ASSOCIATED WITH YOUR
NAME.
Even
if you didn't give out your social security number to
thousands of businesses, there are still merchants, doctors,
credit agencies that have all your good credit and payment
records associated to your social security number. Usually
fixing a few bad situations is easier than proving to
everyone that your new number should replace your original
one. With a new number you're going to encounter some
businesses that didn't follow through changing their entire
database. This means you run the risk of having duplicate
reference's bound to your name. Having multiple references
can be worse than possessing only one reference and having
to provide documentation showing you were a victim of
identity theft.
|
|
|
2.
How do I repair my Credit Report? You are allowed by law,
to submit a written statement, to all three of the credit
bureaus listed below, that will be subsequently filed with
your credit history, explaining that you were a victim of
identity theft. Here is your personal opportunity to say in
your own words what happened.
Even credit
issuing services that you didn't know were looking at your
Credit Report, will see your statement without you having
to send the report to them directly. Having this statement
in your report, shows you made an attempt to clear up the
intrusion, and not just after credit was denied you.
You also
have the right to request any false information in your report
be removed,
|
|
once
you have proved it was due to identity theft. It may not be
a breeze to get it removed, because there are those, who are
not victims of identity theft, who may just want bad credit
records removed, so that's why real proof is required. By
submitting a statement to the credit bureaus, you do it only
once, and not every time you're applying for credit.
back
to top
3.
If you were denied credit, you have the right to get a free
credit report. If you tried to obtain credit, and were
denied for any reason, you can get a free credit report. At
the same time you request a credit report, you can also request
your copy of your Credit Score, (not free). Your Credit Score
is an indication to you, and others, how good or bad your
credit rating is at any time. Additionally your score can
indicate that your credit rating is improving or getting worse
over time. A fee to obtain a Credit Score is normally about
$10 or less. Requesting your Credit Score can be obtained
through one of the 3 agencies listed here.
Equifax
Information Services, LLC
PO Box 105285
Atlanta, GA 30348
1-877-SCORE-11
TransUnion
PO Box 1000
Chester, PA 19022
1-800-888-4213
Experian
PO Box 9530
Allen, TX 75013
1-888-397-3742
4.
Order a New Drivers License Number. If your wallet / purse
has been stolen, then it's likely that your drivers license
number is compromised. Changing your driver's license number
is far easier than changing your social security number everywhere.
For a few dollars you can have some peace of mind that one
item of your identity can again have a clean slate.
5.
Don't Cancel Existing Lines of Credit. If you are a victim
of identity fraud, and haven't quickly contacted the lending
service, and your credit is marred with bad credit marks,
you may have a terrible time getting new lines of credit.
Contact the lending service, explain what has happened, and
have your line of credit transferred to another account before
the compromised account is closed. In most cases, if you notify
the lending service within two days, you may be liable for
up to $50 of the new debt generated by the identity theft.
After two days, and less than 60 days from receiving your
statement, you may only be liable for up to $500. After 60
days you could be responsible for the entire debt, which is
good reason to keep up reconciling your monthly statements.
back
to top
6.
Apply for a Secured Credit Card. This is a great service
offered even for those who have not been victims of identity
theft, but are trying to restore a bad credit history and
get back on track. You obtain this service with a deposit
of funds into a bank. Your credit card, with that bank is
then limited to the amount you deposited, less any fee's they
may charge.
Most of
the time, the interest rate will be high, but if you don't
max out your card and each month pay the entire balance, then
you don't have to be concerned about the interest rate. Having
a "real" credit card is required to rent a car,
rent movies and the like. A secured credit card is considered
a "real credit card", it's not a debit card, or
check card. The credit limit for the card is only limited
by the amount of funds that you supplied, and you can increase
that limit by depositing more funds into that account. A merchant
will never know it's just a secured card, and you don't have
to give any explanations. Just remember, that there may be
a $200 - $300 hold on any card to secure payment of what ever
you are using it for, so make sure you have that much available
in the account before you depend on the card (when renting
a car out of state
for instance).
Make sure
any payments you have made have cleared and are made available
for reuse for your credit limit. Remember this card is reestablishing
your credit, so it must be used. You can't just establish
the account, and not use it to avoid the high interest rates.
You're getting the ability to use a credit card once again
when most credit issuing agencies won't even speak to you,
so paying a higher interest is the cost of getting back on
track. You're showing future credit issuing services that
you now pay on time, AND YOU HAD BETTER PAY ON TIME. If you
are late on just one payment, you can get forced into an even
higher interest rate. This is your chance to reestablish your
credit history, don't blow it!
back
to top
The
following are more tips that you will find helpful:
Odd
but true incidents of what Identity Thieves will go through:
A number
of retailers were given devices by criminals pretending
to be bank personnel. The owners of the businesses were
told if they ran cards through and a red light came on,
they were stolen, a green light was all right. Of course,
all the cards were green light. They came back a couple
of days later and collected the card readers with all
the credit card details on them.
Watch
for strange devices on ATM credit / debit card readers
that don't look as part of the normal device. It could
be a reading device that was placed there by thieves which
can be stealing card numbers and used later at future
dates.
|
