Thread: Identity theft has affected 10,000,000 people a year.

Take steps to respond to and recover from identity theft as soon as you suspect it.
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/microsites/i ... efend.html





What are the steps I should take if I'm a victim of identity theft?

If you are a victim of identity theft, take the following four steps as soon as possible, and keep a record with the details of your conversations and copies of all correspondence.

1. Place a fraud alert on your credit reports, and review your credit reports.

Fraud alerts can help prevent an identity thief from opening any more accounts in your name. Contact the toll-free fraud number of any of the three consumer reporting companies below to place a fraud alert on your credit report. You only need to contact one of the three companies to place an alert. The company you call is required to contact the other two, which will place an alert on their versions of your report, too. If you do not receive a confirmation from a company, you should contact that company directly to place a fraud alert.

Equifax: 1-800-525-6285; www.equifax.com; P.O. Box 740241, Atlanta, GA 30374-0241

Experian: 1-888-EXPERIAN (397-3742); www.experian.com; P.O. Box 9532, Allen, TX 75013

TransUnion: 1-800-680-7289; www.transunion.com; Fraud Victim Assistance Division, P.O. Box 6790, Fullerton, CA 92834-6790

Once you place the fraud alert in your file, you're entitled to order one free copy of your credit report from each of the three consumer reporting companies, and, if you ask, only the last four digits of your Social Security number will appear on your credit reports. Once you get your credit reports, review them carefully. Look for inquiries from companies you haven't contacted, accounts you didn't open, and debts on your accounts that you can't explain. Check that information, like your Social Security number, address(es), name or initials, and employers are correct. If you find fraudulent or inaccurate information, get it removed. See Correcting Fraudulent Information in Credit Reports to learn how. When you correct your credit report, use an Identity Theft Report with a cover letter explaining your request, to get the fastest and most complete results.

Continue to check your credit reports periodically, especially for the first year after you discover the identity theft, to make sure no new fraudulent activity has occurred.



2. Close the accounts that you know, or believe, have been tampered with or opened fraudulently.

Call and speak with someone in the security or fraud department of each company. Follow up in writing, and include copies (NOT originals) of supporting documents. It's important to notify credit card companies and banks in writing. Send your letters by certified mail, return receipt requested, so you can document what the company received and when. Keep a file of your correspondence and enclosures.

When you open new accounts, use new Personal Identification Numbers (PINs) and passwords. Avoid using easily available information like your mother's maiden name, your birth date, the last four digits of your Social Security number or your phone number, or a series of consecutive numbers.

If the identity thief has made charges or debits on your accounts, or has fraudulently opened accounts, ask the company for the forms to dispute those transactions:

For charges and debits on existing accounts, ask the representative to send you the company's fraud dispute forms. If the company doesn't have special forms, use the sample letter to dispute the fraudulent charges or debits. In either case, write to the company at the address given for "billing inquiries," NOT the address for sending your payments.
For new unauthorized accounts, you can either file a dispute directly with the company or file a report with the police and provide a copy, called an “Identity Theft Report,â€

Good information.

I wish law enforcement would take it more seriously when attempts are made. They unfortunately do not. I was with relatives at our insurance office as a relative had a visa expire and so did her license. When a visa expires you have 60 days longer before you become illegal. She wanted to be removed from the insurance as she was no longer driving. There were 2 Hispanic women in the office only and one of them was assisting the other. The one woman told her not to give her the expired driver's license as the insurance needs it once she is able to get it renewed. She repeated it more than once giving specific instructions not to give it to the DMV. Then they asked if they had a credit rating and wanted them to fill out an application for a credit card. We left as I had an appointment and the one woman was angry that they did not fill out the application. This sounded really shady so I we went back and spoke with the owner to see if anything was changed on the policy as my relative got a change of status and could renew her license. I also asked him if he needed a copy of the license and he said no. That woman who wanted the license stayed by his door listening to what we had to say. I guess what floored me was the fact that the insurance company had no information regarding that driver's license being expired.
In my opinion that woman was going to sell that license to someone and the SSN from the credit application which she was hoping for. Thank goodness I was there as this person could have easily been a victim of identity theft. It just goed to prove that you can't really trust anyone. The sad part is since no idenity theft did occur, law enforcement can't do anything about it.

My son just found out someone has been using his SS number to work and on his credit report it says he owes taxes, he is sick about it, he called the Riverside police and gave him the address and they said thier is nothing they can do about it.

The person is in Riverside Cal. Gee do you think it is an illegal alien?

Our government seems to have very little sympathy for citizens whose ID's are stolen and want to give these thieves amnesty.

It is a serious crime to those who have been effected by it and I believe the thieves should pay restitution to those who they have stolen their identities.

As you can see from the article it is a very time consuming process to stop the thieves once you have been targeted.

This report does not include what to do when thieves have charged thousands of dollars to your name and you get the bill !!

So NO identity theft is NOT a victimless crime as I have heard some say !

I have seen people's lives destroyed due to identity theft. What gets me the most is knowing that an American who commit ID theft gets jail time and a criminal record and these illegals walk. I heard of a disabled woman who almost lost her low income housing due to identity theft. Something has to be done.
As for identity theft prevention it is almost impossible. Anyone who works in a bank, credit card company or anywhere else they have access to your SSN can sell that information. This is a scary thought but very real.