| |
| |
|
|
Credit Information |
|
What Should I Do If I've Become a Victim of Identity Theft?
Identity thieves take advantage of everyday opportunities to discover your personal information and use it to commit fraud or other crimes. The good news is a victim of identity theft has more options today than ever before. According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), there are four important actions you can take to minimize the credit damage caused by circumstances beyond your control. 1. Contact any of the three major credit bureaus. Speak to someone in the fraud department and request that a fraud alert be placed on your credit report. As soon as one credit bureau confirms your fraud alert, the other two will automatically place one on your report as well. With a fraud alert in place, creditors must contact you before opening any new accounts in your name or changing any details of your existing accounts. Then request a free copy of your credit report from each one. Review all of your credit information looking for unauthorized accounts, charges, or changes. Check the accuracy of your name, address, phone number, Social Security number (SSN), past employers, and any other personal information. Request any inaccuracies be corrected by notifying the bureaus by phone and follow up in writing by using certified mail, return receipt requested, so you will have documentation of all requests and responses by the bureaus. The addresses for each bureau are listed at the end of this article. Continue to check your reports every few months, especially in the first year after you have lost your personal information. 2. Contact the creditors for the accounts that have been altered or opened without your permission. This includes bank accounts, credit card companies, lenders, utilities, phone companies, Internet service providers, and any other services that may be opened fraudulently. Contact the company's fraud department b phone and follow up with a letter. The FTC offers the "ID Theft Affidavit" to dispute new accounts, available at www.ftc.gov. To dispute charges on existing accounts, request the company's fraud dispute forms. If you suspect that a thief has been passing bad checks in your name, close the account immediately and notify your bank. Contact the major check verification services and ask that the retailers who use their databases stop accepting your checks for purchases. To find out if an identity thief has been writing checks in your name, call SCAN at 1-800-262-7771. The three major check verification services are: ? TeleCheck - Call 1-800-710-9898 or 927-0188. 3. The third step to take if you believe you are a victim of identity theft is to file a police report. Request a copy of the report for your records and to send to creditors for verification of the crime. Unfortunately, 61% of victims in 2004 did not notify the police of identity theft crimes. 4. Finally, file a complaint with the FTC to help law enforcement across the country track identity thieves and catch them. You will also be referred to other useful government agencies and consumer organizations to help you recover from identity theft. Contact the FTC in any of the following ways: ? Call the FTC's Identity Theft Hotline at 1-877-IDTHEFT (438-4338); 5. If you have a substantial credit damage claim, call CM Financial at 714 441-0900. If you have been turned down for a loan, lost a job, or possibly had to pay significantly more interest fees because damage to your credit score due to circumstances beyond your control, you may have a credit damage claim. Now with a newly developed process called Credit Damage Measurement, you can measure the financial loss you have sustained and as a result, receive fair compensation. Visit http://www.creditdamage.com for more information. These five steps should resolve most of your credit problems after becoming a victim of identity theft. However, stay alert for new occurrences. Review your credit report every year and report any problems to creditors immediately both by phone and in writing. With diligence and a little patience, you can recover your good name. As promised, here is the location and contact information for he three credit bureaus to report fraud: ? Equifax - Call 1-800-525-6285; write P.O. Box 740241, Atlanta, GA 30374-0241; or visit www.equifax.com for more information. Cathy Taylor is a marketing consultant with over 25 years experience. She specializes in internet marketing, strategy and plan development, as well as management of communications and public relations programs for small business sectors. She can be reached at Creative Communications: creative-com@cox.net or by visiting http://www.creditdamage.com or http://www.internet-marketing-small-business.com
MORE RESOURCES:
Credit - Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Avoiding College Credit Card Traps Congratulations college freshman! You're about to embark on one of the most exciting times of your life. By now your parents, siblings, and friends have offered you all kinds of advice on how to make your transition to college smoother - how to get along with your roommate, what classes to take and which ones to avoid, where to find the best off-campus food, and how to stay safe on campus. The Ghost of Expected Surprises Here, Cratchet, what do you think you're doing?Uh, er, leaving sir.Leaving? It's 5 minutes to the hour. How a Credit Card Can Be Your Friend We have all heard countless stories of people over their heads with credit card debt-maxing out every card they own, then only being able to afford the minimum monthly payment. High interest payments shackle people to their debt for years, not to mention the significant income drain the finance charges have on their families. Credit Cards -- What You Should Know There are a lot of questions about using credit cards. Here's some important points for you:A quick look around on the Internet this morning shows that more than 9 million people in the UK do not pay off their credit card balances each month. Like It Or Not, You Have A Score To Settle! Like It Or Not, You Have A Score To Settle! (Part 1 of 2 on Credit Scoring)Just when most people finish with school and can stop worrying about test scores, there's a new kind of scoring that enters the picture. It's called credit scoring. Have You Checked Your Permanent Record Lately? As a young student I feared getting bad grades because I didn't want any bad marks on my "permanent record." Get an "F" in fifth-grade science and it goes in your record. The Advantages of Credit Cards There are many evils associated with credit cards, but there are benefits that are hard to ignore. One benefit is having the credit card company act in your behalf to recover funds from a disputed transaction. Collection Agency Secrets for Collecting on Bad Debt Getting worried that one of your clients, customers or patients will never pay? Have you given up on a customer who's essentially said he won't pay? Congratulations--being stiffed by a customer or patient is a milestone in the growth of a business or medical practice. But even the most hopeless of bad debts can sometimes be collected-collection agencies have been doing it for years. SuperCharged Secret 4, Credit Card Utopia YOU SCRATCH MY BACK, AND I'LL BUY SOME MORE BEER!Let's just take a brief moment to recap:If you've been following along on this journey with me, learning the 5 Super-Charged secrets to Credit Card Utopia, then you now know 3 very important things:You now know how to take advantage of zero to low interest credit card offers.You now know that there is safety in numbers, and you know the magic "Who's Who" of the major credit card companies. Credit Card Entrapment - The Secrets are Out Have you ever wondered why your credit card bill is so high and you can't seem to pay off the balance? Well you are not alone in this. You should be aware of a couple of trick that they use and you probably don't even pay attention to it, but you definitely pay for it and BIG!The next time you open up your credit card statement, take a real close look to all the "junk" inside particularly the very hard to read insert Call "changes to you credit card agreement". Bailiffs & Council Tax - Knowing What To Do This article is about bailiffs who may call trying to collect Council Tax or Community Charge (Poll Tax) arrears. If a bailiff has contacted you to collect another sort of debt the law might be different. Annual Credit Report and Free Annual Credit Report Getting an annual credit report review has been the advice of many financial managers as they guided their customers to be aware of all information on credit reports. Would the idea of a free annual credit report be good news? Consumers are thrilled with the new federal mandate that demands the three major national credit bureaus offer a free annual credit report to anyone requesting copies of their personal credit reports. Credit Card Dirty Tricks There are many of us that have been badly stung by credit card companies that have charged exorbitant fees to use their credit cards. Several years ago an APR of 25% to 29% was common place which in simple terms means that if you borrow £1,000 your interest on that money would be £250 to £290 a year. Do You Know The Top Five Credit Card Mistakes? When you're dealing with credit cards, you're playing with fire. Unfortunately, there are plenty of people out there who don't realise that, and make all sorts of dangerous mistakes with their credit cards every day. Two Things You Need To Know About Prepaid Debit Cards According to the September 2004 issue of the Nilson Report, around $588 billion dollars worth of debit cards were bought in the United States in 2003. By 2008 that volume is expected to grow to $1. What Should I Do If I've Become a Victim of Identity Theft? Identity thieves take advantage of everyday opportunities to discover your personal information and use it to commit fraud or other crimes. The good news is a victim of identity theft has more options today than ever before. How To Save Money On Credit Cards Some credit cards offer a cash advance option. But how good a deal is this?Not very. The Hitchhiker's Guide To Insanity A new sickness is plaguing the UK called Denial. Denial has resulted in a national personal debt of almost £1. The Best Strategy To Erase Credit Card Debt Credit card debt is a growing sickness in the United States and Europe. It is very important to eliminate debt and take control of your financial health. Are 0% Credit Cards Reaching Their End? Are Credit Card companies starting to feel the pinch? We all know that the Credit Card companies make their money by charging us interest on the money we borrow. With all the 0% balance transfer offers that we have seen over the last few years its no wonder these companies are concerned they aren't making any money.
|
|||||||||||||||||
