Today's headlines can be depressing, particularly if you're having money problems. From the decline in the value of your home to the tightening of the credit market, the bad news can seem to be to much to deal with. It's at times like these that the slick operators and "scam-sites" crawl out from their hiding places like cockroaches.
There is any number of credit repair and debt consolidation scam artist that would like you to believe that you can't improve your bad credit without their help. Don't believe them. Particularly be wary of companies that want you to pay for credit repair before they provide any services, or if they suggest that you create a "new" credit identity. Some of these approaches can get you into deeper financial (and maybe even legal) trouble.
There are many, common sense steps you take yourself to repair most of your credit problems. Many will require discipline on your part, and some might be downright painful, but you can get your financial affairs back in order.
Credit card debt is one of the easiest debts to fall into because it's the easiest way to get credit. You'd be surprised how many people think of paying off their credit cards in terms of making the minimum payment each month. Are you one of them? That approach just keeps digging the debt hole deeper. You have to make progress in paying off the balance of your credit card debt before you can gain control again. This will mean developing a payment plan you can live with, and calling your bank or lender to get their buy-in.
How do you keep your credit card balance from creeping up again? How about putting away the plastic, and paying with cash. I know, easier said than done. If just cutting down on restaurant meals doesn't free up enough cash, that's when it starts getting painful. You might have to make drastic changes to your life in order to reach the goal of repairing your bad credit. Could you drive a used car instead of a new one? Sure. Could you take public transportation instead of owning a car? Let the pain begin.
Once you are able to make meaningful (and on-time) payments on all your monthly debt, you can turn your attention to your credit report with the goal of fixing your credit score. Request copies of your credit reports from the three major credit bureaus (Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion). Look for the negative information in your report. Some may be valid, but focus on inaccurate data. Maybe one of your creditors is reporting you have an outstanding, overdue balance, but you can prove that you have paid off that loan. Contact the credit bureau in writing, specifying the information you think is inaccurate. Include copies of documents that will prove your point, and request that the negative information be removed or corrected. Also contact the lender that originally provided the inaccurate, negative information. Request, in writing, that their records be corrected, and include the written proof of your point.
These are just a few of the steps you can take yourself to fix your bad credit. At the end of the process, you'll have your finances under control. And you didn't have to pay a credit repair scam artist to help.
for more info on raising your credit score visit my blog at http://http://bsjmarketing.com/csb
Showing posts with label credit bureaus. Show all posts
Showing posts with label credit bureaus. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Thursday, December 18, 2008
What To Do If You Are A Victim Of Identify Theft
You were living a comfortable life. All your monthly bills were paid on time. You just bought a second home on the water. Then it hit. Your most recent credit card bill contained thousands of dollars of charges you don't remember making. You ask your wife, "Did you buy a new HDTV last month to surprise me?" No, it wasn't your wife, it was a criminal who hijacked your credit. You were just the latest victim of identify theft.
In almost half of the cases of identity theft, consumers are the ones who detect the breach. In nearly 40% of cases the criminal was someone who was in close contact with the victim; a friend, relative, neighbor, coworker, in-home employee, waiter/waitress or financial institution employee. In the end, nearly one third of all identity theft cases come from a stolen wallet or purse, checkbook or credit card. The thief might have gotten your personal financial information by stealing your mail or by dumpster diving. Now, you have to clean up this mess.
First, don't panic. Your emotional response will be similar to that of victims of violent crime. Your heart will be racing, you'll feel violated, but just remember--you are not liable for these bogus charges.
Immediately call the financial institution whose bill contained the bad charges. In most cases you need to notify the company (the bank or credit card issuer) with 30 days to be legally protected. Tell them that you believe you are a victim of identity theft, and want the fraudulent charges removed from your bill. You may have to close the account and open a new one to ensure the bad charges stop.
Stay organized. It is crucial that you keep a log of all your phone calls, including who you spoke to and what they said. Keep a file with all the written correspondence you send, and the responses you receive. All mail should be sent "certified, return receipt requested" so you can verify it got there. All this information will serve to strengthen your case.
Ask your financial institution to add a password to your account. That will keep the next ID thief from changing the billing address on your account (only you will know the password). Whenever possible, speak with the fraud investigation department, and not just customer service or bank managers. The fraud department will be investigating your case, and they should hear your story firsthand.
If the thief has used your checks, report the crime to the police, and get a copy of their report to forward to your bank and the merchant who cashed the fraudulent check.
From this point on, continue to monitor all your financial accounts. Go through each of your monthly statements with a fine tooth comb, looking for any charges that might be fraudulent. Request copies of your credit reports from the three major credit bureaus. Look for any negative information that may have been added to your report as a result of the ID theft. It is your right to request that incorrect information be removed from your credit report. You certainly don't want the actions of some criminal to impact your credit score!
It will take time to fix all the problems caused by the identity theft. The average time spent cleaning up the mess is 40 hours. That doesn't mean you can do it in a week; those hours may well be spread or a period of months before your financial affairs are back to normal.
get credit secrets bible now
In almost half of the cases of identity theft, consumers are the ones who detect the breach. In nearly 40% of cases the criminal was someone who was in close contact with the victim; a friend, relative, neighbor, coworker, in-home employee, waiter/waitress or financial institution employee. In the end, nearly one third of all identity theft cases come from a stolen wallet or purse, checkbook or credit card. The thief might have gotten your personal financial information by stealing your mail or by dumpster diving. Now, you have to clean up this mess.
First, don't panic. Your emotional response will be similar to that of victims of violent crime. Your heart will be racing, you'll feel violated, but just remember--you are not liable for these bogus charges.
Immediately call the financial institution whose bill contained the bad charges. In most cases you need to notify the company (the bank or credit card issuer) with 30 days to be legally protected. Tell them that you believe you are a victim of identity theft, and want the fraudulent charges removed from your bill. You may have to close the account and open a new one to ensure the bad charges stop.
Stay organized. It is crucial that you keep a log of all your phone calls, including who you spoke to and what they said. Keep a file with all the written correspondence you send, and the responses you receive. All mail should be sent "certified, return receipt requested" so you can verify it got there. All this information will serve to strengthen your case.
Ask your financial institution to add a password to your account. That will keep the next ID thief from changing the billing address on your account (only you will know the password). Whenever possible, speak with the fraud investigation department, and not just customer service or bank managers. The fraud department will be investigating your case, and they should hear your story firsthand.
If the thief has used your checks, report the crime to the police, and get a copy of their report to forward to your bank and the merchant who cashed the fraudulent check.
From this point on, continue to monitor all your financial accounts. Go through each of your monthly statements with a fine tooth comb, looking for any charges that might be fraudulent. Request copies of your credit reports from the three major credit bureaus. Look for any negative information that may have been added to your report as a result of the ID theft. It is your right to request that incorrect information be removed from your credit report. You certainly don't want the actions of some criminal to impact your credit score!
It will take time to fix all the problems caused by the identity theft. The average time spent cleaning up the mess is 40 hours. That doesn't mean you can do it in a week; those hours may well be spread or a period of months before your financial affairs are back to normal.
get credit secrets bible now
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Three Ways A Simple Credit Repair Letter Can Help You
Having a credit problem is serious business, and fixing that problem should be done in a business-like manner. Picking up the phone and yelling at the lender's customer support representative is not going to help repair your credit; in fact, it may make it worse. However, writing a concise, professional letter may well do the job. A simple credit repair letter can help you in a variety of ways.
Reduce your debt by negotiating repayment plans with your lenders, in writing. Debt negotiation letters can settle your debts, and erase bad credit, for a fraction of what you currently owe. Your lenders will always want to recoup some of their losses, as opposed to having to write all of off your bad debt. A simple letter can be very powerful in reducing the amount of money you owe, and perhaps avoid bankruptcy for you.
A well-crafted letter can also stop collection agencies and attorney debt collectors from harassing you. It is your right to not be called in the middle of the night or while you are at work. These companies sometimes "buy" your debt from the original lender, for a percent of the value. Get these annoying parasites out of your life by putting it in writing.
Stop identity theft with a fraud alert letter. If you suspect that an ID thief is using your personal identifying information to open a new credit account for their personal gain, place an "initial fraud alert" on all three of your credit reports (TransUnion, EquiFax, and Experian). This can only be done if you feel your personal information has been compromised. The initial fraud alert letter requires that lending institutions call you at the phone number listed on your credit report to confirm any new transactions, effectively stopping any new ID theft, at least for the next 90 days.
Raise your credit score by removing inaccurate or negative information from your credit report. Write to the credit bureau that is distributing the bad information, and spell out exactly why the data should be deleted from your report. Perhaps you have paid off a loan that your report shows as outstanding. Always include any copies of proof you may have, such as cancelled checks showing timely payments. It never hurts to include the consequences that have resulted from the credit bureau including the inaccurate information as well.
Be sure to make a copy of all credit repair letters and any attachments for your own files. It is all good evidence that you are working to establish a good line of communication with your creditors.
The impact of your credit repair letters will not be instantaneous. But in a month or so you will likely find that your credit report will reflect the requested changes, that the identification theft has stopped, or that your lenders are negotiating in good faith with you in good faith to reduce your debt. Keep in mind that you are repairing not only your credit, but also your good name and reputation. The pen is mightier than the sword.
get your credit secrets bible now
Reduce your debt by negotiating repayment plans with your lenders, in writing. Debt negotiation letters can settle your debts, and erase bad credit, for a fraction of what you currently owe. Your lenders will always want to recoup some of their losses, as opposed to having to write all of off your bad debt. A simple letter can be very powerful in reducing the amount of money you owe, and perhaps avoid bankruptcy for you.
A well-crafted letter can also stop collection agencies and attorney debt collectors from harassing you. It is your right to not be called in the middle of the night or while you are at work. These companies sometimes "buy" your debt from the original lender, for a percent of the value. Get these annoying parasites out of your life by putting it in writing.
Stop identity theft with a fraud alert letter. If you suspect that an ID thief is using your personal identifying information to open a new credit account for their personal gain, place an "initial fraud alert" on all three of your credit reports (TransUnion, EquiFax, and Experian). This can only be done if you feel your personal information has been compromised. The initial fraud alert letter requires that lending institutions call you at the phone number listed on your credit report to confirm any new transactions, effectively stopping any new ID theft, at least for the next 90 days.
Raise your credit score by removing inaccurate or negative information from your credit report. Write to the credit bureau that is distributing the bad information, and spell out exactly why the data should be deleted from your report. Perhaps you have paid off a loan that your report shows as outstanding. Always include any copies of proof you may have, such as cancelled checks showing timely payments. It never hurts to include the consequences that have resulted from the credit bureau including the inaccurate information as well.
Be sure to make a copy of all credit repair letters and any attachments for your own files. It is all good evidence that you are working to establish a good line of communication with your creditors.
The impact of your credit repair letters will not be instantaneous. But in a month or so you will likely find that your credit report will reflect the requested changes, that the identification theft has stopped, or that your lenders are negotiating in good faith with you in good faith to reduce your debt. Keep in mind that you are repairing not only your credit, but also your good name and reputation. The pen is mightier than the sword.
get your credit secrets bible now
Sunday, July 20, 2008
How to Make Yourself Virtually Identity Theft PROOF in 60 Minutes or Less
=======================================
-by Terry Price
(C) Copyright Terry Price
All Rights Reserved
=======================================
The FBI has called it "The fastest growing crime in America." Close to 10 million Americans every year are victimized by it and the costs are estimated at 50 billion dollars annually. Many criminals get off easy while the victims spend years working
to restore their damaged credit reports and reputations. Worse yet, there seems
to be no end in sight.
"The popularity of the crime is simply growing faster than the solutions to stop it" many experts conclude. The task of recovery is so time consuming and tedious, multiple states have resorted to creating "Identity Theft Passports" for victims in an attempt to ease the pain for them as they endure the lengthy and frustrating clean up process.
By the end of this article I will share with you the secrets of making yourself virtually identity theft proof in 60 minutes or less (for free). I use the term "secrets" because less than 1% of the country are aware of these techniques (let alone practicing them).
If Americans took these preventative steps up to 99% of all identity theft would be eliminated. However, "why" this beneficial approach is not being made common knowledge in the mainstream media is something I will not disclose in this article (more on that another time). For the moment I believe the biggest crime one can ommit is to not share this information with their friends and family (by the end of this article you will understand why).
Unlike other authors covering this subject I will not insult your intelligence by sharing common sense tips like "Don’t carry your SSN Card or ATM PIN# in your wallet or purse" or "Keep all data sensitive documents like credit card and bank statements locked up in your home or office". This is elementary advice at best. The key to protecting yourself from identity theft is to look at what the masses are doing and then do the opposite (to say the least).
Almost 70% of Americans are now shredding all their mail and documents and many are even subscribing to credit monitoring services or buying identity theft insurance in an attempt to protect themselves from becoming victims. While this is better than doing nothing it’s a far cry from TRUE security.
Study The Past To Predict The Future
Contrary to popular belief statistics show the majority of identity theft does NOT result from the internet as most consumers have been led to believe. In fact, less than 10% of identity theft cases (where data compromise can be determined) originated online. In almost 50% of cases consumers are the ones who detect the breach. In nearly 40% of cases the criminal was someone who was in close contact with the victim (friend,relative, neighbor, coworker, in-home employee, waiter/waitress or financial
institution employee). In then end,nearly one third of identity theft cases come from a stolen wallet/purse,checkbook or credit card.
More interesting, the age of the primary victim has lowered. If you are between the age of 25 to 34 you are now the largest target for the crime (65+ has become the smallest). The bad news is that while identity theft nationwide is on the decline (8.9 million victims last year down from 9.3 million in 2005) the dollar amount per victim is going up ($6,383 last year, up from $5,885 in 2005) and so are the number of hours victims spend cleaning up the mess (40+ hours last year, up from 28 hours in 2005).
We’ve all heard the saying "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure". Yet, no one is practicing it in the pandemic of identity theft. Credit monitoring is nice but only 11% of consumers ever catch identity theft through this means. Identity Theft Insurance (according to many experts) is even more of a hoax. A product marketed by playing on the fears of American consumers which does nothing more than assist them in cleaning up the mess only AFTER their identity has been stolen.
A Different Approach
The following is a completely different approach to preventing and protecting ourself from identity theft. It is based on the reality that we live in a world now where there is zero privacy of personal data. Meaning that your name, address, phone number, social security number, date of birth (even your mothers maiden name) can be obtained by ANYONE for a fee.
If you’re one who feels this is paranoid thinking let me tell you about Amy Boyer. In 1999 Miss Boyer had an old high school classmate (Liam Youens) come back into her life many years later. Mr. Youens obtained Amy’s SSN and other personal information after paying Docusearch Inc. $150. After Youens shot Miss Boyer to death he then turned the gun on himself. Today the company tells visitors to its website that "not all searches are available to the public" and some are reserved for the investigative and legal industry. How’s that for homeland security?
With this "different" approach we break down identity theft into two distinct
categories. 1.) Basic Identity Theft, and 2.) Credit Hijacking. By definition "Basic Identity Theft" is when the perpetrator steals your identity and then uses it to obtain NEW credit accounts for their personal gain. "Credit Hijacking" falls under a criminal stealing your identity in order to access and use your EXISTING credit accounts. Each type of fraud is different and therefore so is your plan of defense.
BASIC ID THEFT DEFENSE: The best proactive defense against basic identity theft is through the placing of an "Initial Fraud Alert" on all three of your credit reports. This "Initial Fraud Alert" accomplishes three important factors: 1.) Your name and personal information can no longer be sold by the credit bureaus to ANY third parties for any marketing purpose (i.e. credit card offers, loan solicitations or credit pre screenings). 2.) No one can be approved for credit with your personal information until the creditor personally calls you at the telephone number you list on your consumer credit report. And, 3.) Requesting this initial fraud alert entitles you to a free copy of all three of your credit reports (one copy from each of the three major credit reporting agencies). Please be advised that this is an "Initial Fraud
Alert" which lasts only 90 days. To extend the fraud alert and obtain the above mentioned benefits for 7 years you will need to write to each credit bureau at the address provided within your initial fraud alert confirmation letter (Note: It is likely credit bureaus will make the extended alert harder to obtain as a great deal of their revenue comes from the third party rental and sale your information).
CREDIT HIJACKING DEFENSE: Most online merchants now utilize a security feature known as "Address Verification Service" or "AVS". AVS is a security feature for online merchants allowing them to only authorize credit card transactions for merchandise to be shipped to the same address which appears on the consumers credit card billing statement. If the address does not match that of the credit card billing statement the transaction will automatically be declined. In other words, if someone gets your credit card number, expirations date and CVV code (the three digit code on the back of the card) the only way a transaction can be authorized online is if the merchandise if shipped to the SAME address that your credit card billing statement is currently sent to. This is what makes credit hijacking so dangerous. When a criminal hijacks your credit they call up the banks (posing as you) and change your address on your credit cards with your personal information (i.e. last for of SSN and mothers maiden name) as if you were moving. They then proceed to order thousands of dollars in merchandise (online or over the phone) to be shipped to the "new" address. Because they changed "your address" on your credit cards they will bypass the AVS security from online merchants and the charges will be approved.
The only real defense against credit hijacking is to establish a personal security code with all your bank accounts and credit cards. This is a form of security which goes beyond your SSN, Zip Code, Date of Birth or Mothers Maiden Name to give you a whole new tier of personal security. This is a unique number or group of letters and numbers which you create and give to every credit card provider you have. For example. The number could be as simple as "JACOB2801" which is a combination of your best friend as child and the numerical address of the home you lived in growing up. By establishing this auxiliary passcode with all your credit card providers no one will be granted access to your accounts without it providing it to them. Since you are the only one who knows it and it is non public it is truly secure. I have yet to find a credit card company which will not allow you to create a such a passcode and added layer of security.
Summary
So now with the initial fraud alert established on your credit reports (and later extended) as well as the personal security code set up with all your bank and credit card accounts, you are virtually identity theft proof in under 60 minutes for free. Sure, someone can always "steal" your identity but the real joke will be on them. If they try to open a new credit account anywhere in the country the creditor is going to have to call YOU at the phone number listed on your report in before it can be approved and it’s GAME OVER. If they try to hijack your credit by changing the address on your credit accounts they will be asked for not only the last four digits of your SSN and mother maiden name, but also your personal security code which they will NOT know and again it’s, GAME OVER.
Please understand that this article deals only with the topic of "financial" identity theft which is by far the most prevalent today. However, you should be aware you also have the following "5 MAJOR" identities in computers across the nation which are your: 1.) Driving Records/History (DMV Databases). 2.) Medical Records/History (Medical Information Bureau Database). 3.) Social Security Records/History (SSA Database). 4.) Insurance Claims/History (C.L.U.E. Database). 5.) Criminal, Legal and Public Record databases from birth records and real estate deeds to corporations, trusts and court cases. Yes, we are in the information age but all information is
stored in databases. I think we are now living in the database age.
10 Extra "Financial"
Identity Protection Tips
1.) Keep a list of all credit card and bank account numbers with bank phone numbers so in case of loss or theft they can be notified immediately. 2.) Use only one credit card for personal expenses and one card for business expenses and monitor accounts online weekly. 3.) Always send or receive mail only through secure and locked mail boxes. 4.) Never give out any sensitive information (SSN, Acct #, Pin #, Password Etc) via an email solicitation. Always type in and visit the website directly. 5.) Limit the information on your checks to your first initial, last name and address
(nothing more). 6.) On all credit cards instead of signing your name write "Check ID!". 7.) Never use a debit card or Visa/Master Check card as recovering fraudulently accessed funds from these accounts can be extremely difficult. 8.) Store all credit cards, bank statements and passports etc in a secure and locked place. 9.) Never give out your Social Security Number, Drivers License Number or Date Of Birth unless they have just cause and really need it. 10.) For details about establishing and initial fraud alert on your credit reports visit: www.experian.com, www.equifax.com, www.transunion.com
=======================================
The "CREDIT SECRETS BIBLE" has been in print since 1994 and is published by
Consumer Publishing Group. For more information on the "CREDIT
SECRETS BIBLE" you may visit:
click here to get your bible
=======================================
-by Terry Price
(C) Copyright Terry Price
All Rights Reserved
=======================================
The FBI has called it "The fastest growing crime in America." Close to 10 million Americans every year are victimized by it and the costs are estimated at 50 billion dollars annually. Many criminals get off easy while the victims spend years working
to restore their damaged credit reports and reputations. Worse yet, there seems
to be no end in sight.
"The popularity of the crime is simply growing faster than the solutions to stop it" many experts conclude. The task of recovery is so time consuming and tedious, multiple states have resorted to creating "Identity Theft Passports" for victims in an attempt to ease the pain for them as they endure the lengthy and frustrating clean up process.
By the end of this article I will share with you the secrets of making yourself virtually identity theft proof in 60 minutes or less (for free). I use the term "secrets" because less than 1% of the country are aware of these techniques (let alone practicing them).
If Americans took these preventative steps up to 99% of all identity theft would be eliminated. However, "why" this beneficial approach is not being made common knowledge in the mainstream media is something I will not disclose in this article (more on that another time). For the moment I believe the biggest crime one can ommit is to not share this information with their friends and family (by the end of this article you will understand why).
Unlike other authors covering this subject I will not insult your intelligence by sharing common sense tips like "Don’t carry your SSN Card or ATM PIN# in your wallet or purse" or "Keep all data sensitive documents like credit card and bank statements locked up in your home or office". This is elementary advice at best. The key to protecting yourself from identity theft is to look at what the masses are doing and then do the opposite (to say the least).
Almost 70% of Americans are now shredding all their mail and documents and many are even subscribing to credit monitoring services or buying identity theft insurance in an attempt to protect themselves from becoming victims. While this is better than doing nothing it’s a far cry from TRUE security.
Study The Past To Predict The Future
Contrary to popular belief statistics show the majority of identity theft does NOT result from the internet as most consumers have been led to believe. In fact, less than 10% of identity theft cases (where data compromise can be determined) originated online. In almost 50% of cases consumers are the ones who detect the breach. In nearly 40% of cases the criminal was someone who was in close contact with the victim (friend,relative, neighbor, coworker, in-home employee, waiter/waitress or financial
institution employee). In then end,nearly one third of identity theft cases come from a stolen wallet/purse,checkbook or credit card.
More interesting, the age of the primary victim has lowered. If you are between the age of 25 to 34 you are now the largest target for the crime (65+ has become the smallest). The bad news is that while identity theft nationwide is on the decline (8.9 million victims last year down from 9.3 million in 2005) the dollar amount per victim is going up ($6,383 last year, up from $5,885 in 2005) and so are the number of hours victims spend cleaning up the mess (40+ hours last year, up from 28 hours in 2005).
We’ve all heard the saying "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure". Yet, no one is practicing it in the pandemic of identity theft. Credit monitoring is nice but only 11% of consumers ever catch identity theft through this means. Identity Theft Insurance (according to many experts) is even more of a hoax. A product marketed by playing on the fears of American consumers which does nothing more than assist them in cleaning up the mess only AFTER their identity has been stolen.
A Different Approach
The following is a completely different approach to preventing and protecting ourself from identity theft. It is based on the reality that we live in a world now where there is zero privacy of personal data. Meaning that your name, address, phone number, social security number, date of birth (even your mothers maiden name) can be obtained by ANYONE for a fee.
If you’re one who feels this is paranoid thinking let me tell you about Amy Boyer. In 1999 Miss Boyer had an old high school classmate (Liam Youens) come back into her life many years later. Mr. Youens obtained Amy’s SSN and other personal information after paying Docusearch Inc. $150. After Youens shot Miss Boyer to death he then turned the gun on himself. Today the company tells visitors to its website that "not all searches are available to the public" and some are reserved for the investigative and legal industry. How’s that for homeland security?
With this "different" approach we break down identity theft into two distinct
categories. 1.) Basic Identity Theft, and 2.) Credit Hijacking. By definition "Basic Identity Theft" is when the perpetrator steals your identity and then uses it to obtain NEW credit accounts for their personal gain. "Credit Hijacking" falls under a criminal stealing your identity in order to access and use your EXISTING credit accounts. Each type of fraud is different and therefore so is your plan of defense.
BASIC ID THEFT DEFENSE: The best proactive defense against basic identity theft is through the placing of an "Initial Fraud Alert" on all three of your credit reports. This "Initial Fraud Alert" accomplishes three important factors: 1.) Your name and personal information can no longer be sold by the credit bureaus to ANY third parties for any marketing purpose (i.e. credit card offers, loan solicitations or credit pre screenings). 2.) No one can be approved for credit with your personal information until the creditor personally calls you at the telephone number you list on your consumer credit report. And, 3.) Requesting this initial fraud alert entitles you to a free copy of all three of your credit reports (one copy from each of the three major credit reporting agencies). Please be advised that this is an "Initial Fraud
Alert" which lasts only 90 days. To extend the fraud alert and obtain the above mentioned benefits for 7 years you will need to write to each credit bureau at the address provided within your initial fraud alert confirmation letter (Note: It is likely credit bureaus will make the extended alert harder to obtain as a great deal of their revenue comes from the third party rental and sale your information).
CREDIT HIJACKING DEFENSE: Most online merchants now utilize a security feature known as "Address Verification Service" or "AVS". AVS is a security feature for online merchants allowing them to only authorize credit card transactions for merchandise to be shipped to the same address which appears on the consumers credit card billing statement. If the address does not match that of the credit card billing statement the transaction will automatically be declined. In other words, if someone gets your credit card number, expirations date and CVV code (the three digit code on the back of the card) the only way a transaction can be authorized online is if the merchandise if shipped to the SAME address that your credit card billing statement is currently sent to. This is what makes credit hijacking so dangerous. When a criminal hijacks your credit they call up the banks (posing as you) and change your address on your credit cards with your personal information (i.e. last for of SSN and mothers maiden name) as if you were moving. They then proceed to order thousands of dollars in merchandise (online or over the phone) to be shipped to the "new" address. Because they changed "your address" on your credit cards they will bypass the AVS security from online merchants and the charges will be approved.
The only real defense against credit hijacking is to establish a personal security code with all your bank accounts and credit cards. This is a form of security which goes beyond your SSN, Zip Code, Date of Birth or Mothers Maiden Name to give you a whole new tier of personal security. This is a unique number or group of letters and numbers which you create and give to every credit card provider you have. For example. The number could be as simple as "JACOB2801" which is a combination of your best friend as child and the numerical address of the home you lived in growing up. By establishing this auxiliary passcode with all your credit card providers no one will be granted access to your accounts without it providing it to them. Since you are the only one who knows it and it is non public it is truly secure. I have yet to find a credit card company which will not allow you to create a such a passcode and added layer of security.
Summary
So now with the initial fraud alert established on your credit reports (and later extended) as well as the personal security code set up with all your bank and credit card accounts, you are virtually identity theft proof in under 60 minutes for free. Sure, someone can always "steal" your identity but the real joke will be on them. If they try to open a new credit account anywhere in the country the creditor is going to have to call YOU at the phone number listed on your report in before it can be approved and it’s GAME OVER. If they try to hijack your credit by changing the address on your credit accounts they will be asked for not only the last four digits of your SSN and mother maiden name, but also your personal security code which they will NOT know and again it’s, GAME OVER.
Please understand that this article deals only with the topic of "financial" identity theft which is by far the most prevalent today. However, you should be aware you also have the following "5 MAJOR" identities in computers across the nation which are your: 1.) Driving Records/History (DMV Databases). 2.) Medical Records/History (Medical Information Bureau Database). 3.) Social Security Records/History (SSA Database). 4.) Insurance Claims/History (C.L.U.E. Database). 5.) Criminal, Legal and Public Record databases from birth records and real estate deeds to corporations, trusts and court cases. Yes, we are in the information age but all information is
stored in databases. I think we are now living in the database age.
10 Extra "Financial"
Identity Protection Tips
1.) Keep a list of all credit card and bank account numbers with bank phone numbers so in case of loss or theft they can be notified immediately. 2.) Use only one credit card for personal expenses and one card for business expenses and monitor accounts online weekly. 3.) Always send or receive mail only through secure and locked mail boxes. 4.) Never give out any sensitive information (SSN, Acct #, Pin #, Password Etc) via an email solicitation. Always type in and visit the website directly. 5.) Limit the information on your checks to your first initial, last name and address
(nothing more). 6.) On all credit cards instead of signing your name write "Check ID!". 7.) Never use a debit card or Visa/Master Check card as recovering fraudulently accessed funds from these accounts can be extremely difficult. 8.) Store all credit cards, bank statements and passports etc in a secure and locked place. 9.) Never give out your Social Security Number, Drivers License Number or Date Of Birth unless they have just cause and really need it. 10.) For details about establishing and initial fraud alert on your credit reports visit: www.experian.com, www.equifax.com, www.transunion.com
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The "CREDIT SECRETS BIBLE" has been in print since 1994 and is published by
Consumer Publishing Group. For more information on the "CREDIT
SECRETS BIBLE" you may visit:
click here to get your bible
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