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Identity Theft - Dont Think You Are Immune
As identity theft becomes more prevalent, the need to
regularly check your credit report is very easy to see and
understand. Two big headlines in the news recently point to how
closely tied your credit report and identity theft are.
First, we hear of the troubles of Choice Point, a company
involved in the storage and distribution of credit information.
It appears some criminals set up a fake company and used it to
obtain sensitive credit information. Then in turn they used it to
steal the identities of about 750 people. That number will
probably grow, since more than 500,000 people across the country
have been put at risk.
Second, comes the story about missing computer tapes
containing credit card records of more than 1.2 million of Bank
of America cardholders. Most of the accounts belonged to federal
government employees. This has placed the account holders in
danger of increased risk of identity theft.
Both of these companies are now in the process of notifying
the people of their exposure. The truly bad part of all the
problems is these leaks and losses occurred months ago. These two
companies were not very quick in notifying the people affected.
Way too much damage could have been done before they had been
alerted to the trouble.
While the headlines may change, the need to check your credit
report does not. You may be very careful. You may shred your
documents, the credit card and other financial solicitations you
receive in the mail. You may take great care how and where you
give out your financial information. Unfortunately as these
stories show, it may not be enough.
Identity theft affects about 10 million victims per year. It
has been estimated to cost consumers and businesses more than 50
billion dollars a year. It is easily among the fastest growing
categories of white collar crime. You need to do all you can to
fight theft of your identity.
A new law has been put on the books by the Congress to help
combat the losses. It allows the you, the consumer to request a
free credit report from the credit agencies once a year. You
should not hesitate to take advantage of it. However, the law has
a rollout feature which does not allow full access for all
Americans until September 1 of this (2005) year.
While this is a step in the right direction, in typical
fashion the government continues to leave the populace exposed.
You should access your credit report much more often than once a
year. If an identity theft takes place just after receiving the
free credit reports, an enormous amount of damage can be done
before you can review your next free report.
The Federal Trade Commission has put together a list of
questions and answers concerning this new law and the effect it
will have on your credit report and your risk of identity theft.
They can be helpful to you in determining your rights under the
law
It makes sense to check your reports regularly, as often as,
on a monthly basis. This may seem a bit much to you, but just ask
a person who has had their identity stolen how much hassle it is
to take your life back. They will tell you it is well worth the
effort. Let's face it, no one cares as much as you, about your
credit record, and the damage that identity theft could cause in
your life.
(c)2005 David Wilding
David Wilding has for the past ten years worked with groups
and individuals to rid their lives of debt. Visit his website for
more ideas, tools, and strategies to get rid of your debt.
MORE RESOURCES:
Clock ticks down on credit bureau class-action dealIndianapolis Star, United States - 54 minutes agoIn a class-action settlement, credit bureau TransUnion has agreed to provide free credit- monitoring services to millions of consumers to settle claims it ... |
MORE COLLEGE CREDITChicago Sun-Times, United States - 10 hours agoDespite the current nationwide credit crunch, the State of Illinois secured $100 million for the student loans by tapping a new source -- credit unions. ... |
Credit - Google News
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