How it happened?

January 12, 2004, the day my identity was stolen, I went to my mailbox and received my mail. On the way back to my apartment I saw a letter from Exxon Mobil and was surprised when it had “immediate attention” required on it. At that point in my life I was used to receiving credit card offers and such, but this envelope did not look like the normal ones. I opened up the letter to find out that an account had recently been opened up under my name, but the address and/or first-last name did not match with the one with the consumer credit bureau report. They wrote the letter to confirm that I had opened an account. Thank goodness they wrote me because I was able to call them back immediately, only to find out that it was real and that it had not been used yet.

Damage Control

They were very helpful and they told me only that I needed to contact the credit bureaus and the FTC. I needed to let them know that there was a possibly of identity theft. Once I contacted all three of the credit bureaus and told them my situation they told me I needed to file a police report and that they would all send me my reports ASAP. I received all credit report to find that they had also opened and American Express card under my previous mailing address. I had to write letters to both Exxon and AMEX, write letters to all three of the credit bureaus, and I had to write to FTC and request an investigation of identity theft.

I also needed to add a fraud alert in writing and over the phone on to all of my credit, reports, mailing, and credit cards. I had to write all of my financial institutions and notify them of my situation while documenting everything, including logs of all phone conversations with the names of people whom with I spoke. Along with each piece of documentation, I had to make copies of my Social Security card, Pay Stud with SSN, W2 Forms, Drivers License, Rental/Lease Agreement and Utility Bill. Once I got all documents prepared and made sure everything was really nice and tight, I had to spend the extra money to send each one to each institution by certified mail (at the time, it cost me around $50.00). I received letters from all of the investigations for my claim of fraud and they all determined that I was not responsible for any fraudulent transactions. Also, everything had been removed from my credit report and score, even though it took somewhere between 30-90 days.

Call from Collection Agency! Yikes

As a side note…knowing that they had opened at least one account at my past address I was pretty sure they were going to get caught, but I never heard back from the LAPD about my case or their findings. Fast forward to July 19, 2006. I received a statement from Capital Management Services, Inc. notifying me to resolve a delinquent debt of $1743.58. I immediately contacted the collection agency and asked what is going on with the delinquent debt. I have never in my life been called a liar, until I spoke with the service rep. She told me that I was lying and that I needed to pay them right that second. We got into the most heated debate and I was absolutely floored with what she saying. We ended the conversation because we were yelling at each other and, eventually, she hung up on me. I was shaking when I got off the phone with her. I had never experienced anyone so hateful, but was also scared about what was going to happen to my credit score.

Dealing with Collection Agency

I called my father and together we came up with a game plan on how to deal with the settlement company. After our conversation, I called Chase Bank, USA, and spoke with their fraud department. They informed me that someone opened a Home Depot account under the alias of my wife, and that they had my social security #.

I got a buddy of mine who went to law school to write a letter disputing the debt. In the letter we wrote the collection agency telling them that the address they had for the card was incorrect, along with my mothers maiden name they had on file. I also requested that they hold all collection activities that would show up on my credit report and damage my credit score. I had to go through the whole process I previously outlined above, plus add the collection agency to the list. After filing another police report, I had to add an “extended” fraud alert to my credit reports via certified mail. Once again I never heard back from the LAPD, but Chase determined that I wasn’t responsible for the transactions and cleared the delinquent debt and marks on my credit.

Additional Measures

I decided that I had had enough. I opened a Lifelock account, which protects my identity, but costs me $110.00 per year. I also take the time every year to check my credit report to make sure nothing suspicious shows up. Every time I open a new line of credit I have to go through a whole identity verification process. I either have to go through a series of questions to prove my identity before I can open an account. When I was trying to get cable, I signed up online and the day when technician was supposed set up, the system froze me out. I called the cable company and their online system never signed me up. I had to show valid I.D and proof of residency in person down at the cable company’s office. Little things like this constantly haunt me and it is just a part of life now.

The one and only good thing that came out of this situation is that I don’t receive junk mail anymore. I didn’t need identity theft to happen to stop receiving it. The kicker in this whole story is that it was not only my identity stolen. They stole my life away from me. It cost a lot of money when it happened and it is still costing me my hard earned money everyday. Money is money and it sucks, but the thief easily took days, if not weeks, off of my life by having to fill out paper work, file police reports, mail documents, and had to talk with the rudest person I have ever spoken to. That is time I will never get back and it is unacceptable that people can get away with this. They not only steal your identity, but they steal your livelihood, your thought process, and your money. It is you that has to suffer, it is you that has to make all the efforts, it is you that has to worry, it is you that has to spend the extra money, it is you that has to go through a longer process for opening up another line of credit, it is you that has to explain yourself, and it is you that will never get your life back for dealing with this. Identity thieves have no soul, they are the scum of the earth, and they have no moral code by which they live.

I would never wish this on my worst enemy, but I can honestly say that all the credit card companies, the FTC, and the credit bureaus were absolutely wonderful while dealing with the situation. They were on my side, they took it very seriously, and that they told me they would do everything in their power to work with me to make sure my credit was cleared. I hope that my story can be an inspiration to help you take all the steps you need to make sure it never happens to you. If you have any questions please contact me at mymoneyshrugged@gmail.com

Note from Mr Credit Card – If you have similar experiences, please share them with us by commenting below. If you would like me to publish your story, please submit it here.

Finally, I really want to thank Atlas for taking the time to share his story with us. Please visit his blog and feel free to ask questions here as well. I’m sure he’ll be checking this post.

Most sites recommend placing a fraud alert on your credit report to prevent the identity thieves from opening up new accounts in your name. This is good advice, but it’s not the best advice.

What is a fraud alert?

Setting up a fraud alert is like placing a red flag on your credit report. It means that any time you (or a potential identity thief) attempts to take out a loan, the lenders are supposed to go back and re-verify all of the personal information. In other words, they are supposed to take several extra steps to ensure that you are the one applying for the loan, and not just someone else using your identity.

That sounds like a good thing right? Where’s the problem?

The problem with placing a fraud alert on your credit reports is simple: Too many loans are given electronically now. In the days where you actually had to sit down with a lender in order to get a loan, a person would have seen the alert and (hopefully) checked things over to make sure that the person applying for the loan was legitimate.

With so many things being automated today, a fraud alert means next to nothing. There is no person there reviewing your credit reports, and not everyone’s system is set up to recognize fraud alerts. An identity thief can be approved for a bank account, a loan or a credit card in less than 60 seconds using your identity – fraud alert or not.

So, what can you do about it?

The best course of action if you believe your identity has been stolen is to freeze all three of your credit reports, no simply place a fraud alert.

What is freezing your credit reports?

If you choose to freeze your credit reports it means that lenders will be unable to see your credit score. This works in favor of most automated systems because the make decisions based entirely on your credit score. If your credit report is frozen, they cannot access your score. If a potential lender can’t see your credit score, they will not issue a loan.

This is the most effective method of protecting your identity. Most automated systems don’t recognize the red flag from the fraud alert, but they will definitely not approve you if they can’t access your credit score!

How to freeze your credit reports:

You can freeze your credit reports by going online, or by calling each of the three credit bureaus. Make sure you do go through the process with all three bureaus too. Not every lender looks at the same credit report. You do have to freeze your credit reports at all three places if you want to shut down an identity thief.

Start by visiting the links below, and setting up an account with each of the three credit bureaus.

• Experian
• Equifax
• TransUnion

Once you have your account set up, you can view your credit report, and choose to freeze, or unfreeze your credit report. If you have been a victim of identity theft, it is free to freeze your credit reports. Usually all you need is a police report number.

If you’re reading this article because your identity has been stolen, and you do not yet have a police report number, you can visit our article on “What To Do If Your Purse Or Wallet is Stolen” for a complete list of steps you should follow to protect your identity.

If you’re identity has not been stolen (or you aren’t sure) and you want to freeze your credit reports just to be on the safe side it costs around $10 per bureau.

Unfreezing your credit reports:

You won’t want to leave your credit reports frozen forever – chances are you will need a loan yourself at some point. If lenders can’t pull your credit score, they won’t issue a loan to you either. So unfreezing is pretty much inevitable at some point.

Today most of the credit bureaus have the freezing / unfreezing process down to a single click of the mouse. When you know that you intend to apply for a loan, log back into your credit bureau accounts and unfreeze your credit reports.

Make sure you give the credit bureaus enough time to catch up with you though – Unfreeze your credit reports about a week before you intend to apply for a loan.

A word of caution:

Once your identity has been stolen, that information is out there pretty much forever. You will never be able to know whether or not the thief sold your personal information to someone else.

Once you decide that enough time has passed, and you no longer wish to have your credit reports frozen, I wholeheartedly recommend picking up a credit monitoring service.

For about $15 a month you can view all three of your credit reports any time that you want to. If you check them regularly you will immediately be able to see any new accounts that have been opened in your name. If you weren’t the one that opened them, you know your identity thief is back.

Also, right now Equifax has a program called ID Patrol that offers identity theft insurance as a part of the credit monitoring package. They also set you up with an advisor that will walk you through identity theft recovery step by step if it happens to you. (Those things are included in the $15/month price for monitoring all three of your credit reports.)

These type of services are not for everyone – but if you have had your identity stolen in the past, or you are afraid that it might have been stolen, then it’s a very good investment because it protects you from further damage to your identity or your credit scores.

Have a question for us? Leave a comment below!

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Most adults become aware of identity theft pretty quickly – we check out bank balances, our credit card statements, and our credit reports. When we do find that someone has been using our personal information (as I recently did), we take the necessary steps to cancel our accounts, and stop the theft.

The problem with children and identity theft is that it may never be detected until the child goes to apply for his / her first loan – which could be years after their identity was first stolen.

There are three types of identity theft to watch out for:

So, how can you tell if your child’s identity has been stolen?

In a worst case scenario, your child will find out that their identity has been stolen by having bills sent to them, having an arrest warrant, being turned down for a loan, fired from a job, or denied employment because of a “criminal record”. The best thing though, is not to let it get to that point.

The easiest way to keep tabs on your child’s identity is to check their credit reports just like you check your own. Since the credit bureaus do not “knowingly keep records on children under 13″ the best thing that you can have happen is to be told that there is no report on file. You can find a sample letter here that you can print out and send to the three main credit bureaus to check on the state of your child’s credit report.

If your child does have an active credit report, then that is a sure sign of identity theft. If that is the case, you will want to treat it just as if your own identity had been stolen:

Identity theft is a scary situation, it’s a real violation, especially when it happens to a child. Thankfully, we have enough laws in place, and enough ways to combat identity theft that if it does happen to you or your child, you just have to take the necessary steps to stop it.

Have a question for us? Leave a comment below!

Keep Reading:

• What To Do If Your Purse Or Wallet is Stolen
• Should You Sign The Back of Your Credit Card?
• New Protection From Identity Theft?

Occasionally though, my husband jokes with me about not knowing my password, so I thought he might have done it. When I called him, he didn’t know anything about it. I just wrote it off as a weird experience.

Yesterday, I logged on to again to transfer some money to my savings account, and I found a $3 charge to my account that I did not make. Apparently, someone had visited McDonald’s with my credit card number.

Now, the strange thing about this is that I still have my debit card – it’s not missing! It was in my wallet the entire time.

I called immediately to cancel my debit card and have a new one issued. Right after I said a very thankful prayer that the thief only purchased a hamburger!

I’ve been trying to puzzle out exactly how this happened, and really, I may never know. I do know a few things though:

1. The unauthorized charge was made in my own home town.
2. They have the card number, but not the card.
3. They do not have my social security number or they would have been able to reset my bank account password instead of getting locked out.

So, The best that I can come up with is that someone, at some point, copied my card information when I used it locally.

I have always read that some people can be so “secure” with their information – shredding all personal info, not buying things online, etc. Yet they will hand their credit card to a 17 year old at a drive through, or a restaurant and let them walk off with it to run the charge. Yup. I was one of those people! I guess I will be paying with cash a lot more often in the future!

I also have a second layer of security. I monitor my credit reports. I don’t think this person has any more information about me than my debit card number. However, I will be able to tell immediately if they open up any new accounts in my name because it will show up on my credit reports.

Suddenly, that $15 a month monitoring service is actually being put to good use

So, all in all this was just an excellent reminder that I need to be more careful with my debit and credit cards. Sometimes there really is nothing you can do to prevent identity theft. From now on though, I think using cash a little more often is a good policy.

Have you ever had an experience like this? Do you know someone who has? What did you do to combat it? Tell us about it in the comments section!

So, that’s it for the scary news today. I ran into some much happier articles in my feed reader this week. I’d love to share them with you.

Cherry Pickin’:

This was my favorite article of the week!

• Dan at Credit Cards.com had an article on “Randolph and Mortimer Duke: They’re back in business” Trading Places is one of my very favorite movies, and Dan makes some excellent observations!

Political Madness…It’s Almost Over:

• Clever Dude gives an awesome rundown of the Libertarian party. Since I pretty much knew nothing about this, it was a completely interesting and informative lesson. Excellent article.
• Erik at Money Smart Life did a two part post that took a close look at John McCain and Barack Obama’s proposed economic policies.

The State of The Nation:

• Mr. Micah wrote an article on “Stocks: What We Really Own“. She makes a wonderful point here. If you’re investing in something that’s valuable, it’s best not to worry about what it’s worth today. As long as you believe in the investment, and you’ve completely investigated it, then the best thing you can do is let tomorrow take care of itself and hang on to your investment.
• The Financial Philosopher had some interest thoughts on “Money Worries Should Be Telling (and Teaching) You Something…“. I love this blog! If you’ve never been there, please, check it out. There is always worthwhile and thought provoking content there.
• Jim at Blueprint for Financial Prosperity has a devil’s advocate post on “401(k)’s and IRA’s Are For Suckers“. Well, you can almost hear me falling over on this one can’t you? Still, these are always excellent and well thought out articles – always fun to read!

Child’s Play:

• The Smart Spending Blog at MSN Money has an article called “Even teens are feeling the pinch in this economy” I think it’s very worthwhile to teach your child about your family finances, and what’s going on with the world. Obviously, the idea isn’t to scare them to death. But I do think that any information you can give them about the financial state of things is valuable to them as they grow and learn. Besides, open conversation fosters interest, and having a child interested in money and finances is priceless.
• The Simple Dollar did two excellent articles; “Brand Preferences and the Two Year Old Child” and some “Some Follow-Up Thoughts on Fruity Cheerios and Branding Our Kids“. Teaching our kids about marketing tactics only helps them. When I first learned how companies market products to us I was both disillusioned, and a little angry. I was lucky that I had an excellent marketing teacher in school who revealed many of the most common tactics and plays that these companies use. It forever changed the way I thought about my purchases.
• Get Rich Slowly advises us to create a will. After all, it’s not as scary as we think it will be! I do believe that creating a will is one of the best things you can do for your family, and especially your children.

Carnivals, Festivals, and Celebrations!

Many thanks to the following carnivals for featuring our articles this week!

• Carnival of financial resources #2 (the late Halloween edition!) and the carnival of money stories #82! @ The Financial Wellness Project
• Festival of Frugality #149: Monster Mash Edition!@ Living Well on Le$$
• Bankruptcy and Debt Carnival 8. The Action Continues @ Bankruptcy Access.com
• Carnival of Personal Finance – Financial Armageddon Edition! @ Master Your Card
• Money Hack Carnival #36 – Scary Finances Edition @ Free From Broke

That’s it for this week’s review. Hope you’re having a great weekend!

Here’s the lowdown:

The Identity Theft Enforcement and Restitution Act was written by Senator Patrick Leahy of Vermont in October of 2007. Since then it’s bounced around, been approved by the Senate twice, and then finally passed the House of Representatives. Now it’s just waiting on the President’s stamp of approval before being officially passed into law.

The new Identity Theft Act will make some much needed changes to our current laws:

1) Victims of identity theft can now sue the criminals that stole their identity, no matter how much money was stolen from them. This includes seeking damages for the loss of your wages, time, and any other expenses you ran into while getting everything straightened out.

2) It is now a felony to place spyware, or keyloggers on more than 10 computers. Half the computer programs on the market will have to be pulled! (Kidding…sort of…)

3) Identity theft cases can now be tried in a federal court. Prior to this law, if you and the identity thief lived in the same state then the crime was handled at the state level and was usually considered a misdemeanor, and not a felony.

4) If the law passes, it will now be considered a crime to threaten to steal or “release data” from a computer. It’s punishable by a fine, and up to five years in prison.

The law itself is a small step forward in our favor. The more penalties there are for identity theft, the better off we are all presumably going to be.

Now, whether or not this will have any effect on our friends the Nigerian entrepreneurs , it’s hard to say. What it will do though, is crack down a smidge on the criminals living within the United States.

While to bill does nothing to actually make our personal information safer, at least now we can go after anyone who does try to steal our identities, and sue them in court.

Ahh the American way…

Keep Reading:

• In Case of Identity Theft, Check Your Criminal Records
• Should You Sign The Back of Your Credit Card?
• Warning: Voter Registration Identity Theft Telephone Scam

If you know, or even think that you may be a victim of identity theft, then you need to make a point of checking to see if your name has been used as an alias in a crime. Once a thief has your information, they can use it any way that want to – from making fraudulent charges, selling your identity to others, or even posing as you if they are arrested.

There are plenty of online services that you can use to check your criminal records. Unfortunately, most of them cost upwards of $40. In this case, the best thing that you can do to ensure your name has not been used to protect a criminal’s identity is to check your FBI records.

The following bit of information comes from the U.S. Department of State’s Criminal Records page:

FBI RECORDS CHECK: The Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS) Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) centralizes criminal justice information and provides accurate and timely information and services to local, state, federal, and international law enforcement agencies, the private sector, academia, and other government agencies.

The subject of an identification record may obtain a copy thereof by submitting a written request to the CJIS. The request must be accompanied by satisfactory proof of identity (consisting of name, date and place of birth, and a set of roll-inked fingerprint impressions) and a certified check or money order for the $18 processing fee.

The FBI will not provide copies of arrest records to individuals other than the subject of the record. Requests should be directed to FBI CJIS Division, Attn: SCU, Mod. D-2, 1000 Custer Hollow Rd., Clarksburg, West Virginia 26306. If there is no criminal record, a report reflecting this fact is provided.

Identity theft is expensive, there is no way around it. But you can make the recovery from identity theft as painless as possibly by following the correct procedures to control and prevent further damage.

You need to call your bank, file a police report, freeze your credit reports, report the theft to your credit card companies, and do a criminal background check. That covers your bases and minimizes the damage the thief can do to you.

Have a question for us? Leave a comment below!

Did you like this article? You can get our future articles for free! (Click Here)

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One of our readers, Stacey, sent us this question:

I am thinking of joining Identity Guard or something else to help monitor my accounts and to tell me what my score is. Is it worth it?

Thanks for your question Stacey!

Credit monitoring services are a valuable tool. They help you monitor your credit reports and keep them free from errors, help you prevent identity theft, and allow you to track your credit score. Whether or not they are worth the ongoing expense will depend on your situation.

Most credit monitoring services run about $15 a month and up depending on what you sign up for. Credit monitoring services charge extra for things like tracking your credit scores, and how many of the three credit bureaus you want to view reports and scores from. That said, there are certainly times that you will probably want to track your credit scores and reports no matter what:

• If you are planning to purchase a house, or a car in the near future.
• If you think you may be a victim of identity theft, or if you have had your identity stolen in the past.
• If you plan to get a loan of any type soon.
• If you are rebuilding or trying to raise your credit score.
• If you have secured credit cards and need to know whether or not they report as secured cards, or report to all three credit bureaus.

It is important to understand that all three of the credit bureaus have their own system for computing your credit score, and that those scores are separate from your FICO score. Before you agree to pay monthly for a credit score, be sure that you are paying for the scores that you want to see. Credit card lenders will usually check your credit scores at one (or more) of the three credit bureaus. Anything bigger than that (house, car, bank loan) and they will most likely check your FICO score instead.

Some credit monitoring services will show you your FICO score, and some will not. Read those terms and conditions carefully.

As for which credit monitoring service I recommend:

In the past I have faithfully used TrueCredit, Transunion’s credit monitoring service. However recently I have switched to Id Patrol from Equifax, and I am much happier with it. Here’s the lowdown:

Transunion (True Credit):

• Their pages are full of targeted advertising, and it can sometimes be difficult to locate the information you need.
• They offer too many choices – for $15 a month I can either see just my Transunion credit score and Transunion credit report, or I can view only my credit reports at all three credit bureaus. If I want to view my credit scores at all three bureaus I have to upgrade.
• By the time you add in all three credit bureau scores and reports, plus your FICO score, you can pay as much as $45 a month. Personally, I find that ridiculous.

Id Patrol (Equifax), on the other hand has some really neat perks:

• They have far fewer advertisements.
• Everything is well organized, and easy to understand.
• $15 a month gets you your credit reports (not scores) from all three credit bureaus, and your debt-to-credit ratio is clearly spelled out for each.
• They have several identity protection features, including a very nice identity theft insurance package at no extra charge.
• The identity theft insurance pays for a wide range of expenses. It even includes paying for your time off work to get everything straightened out.

With all of those extras, plus the easy to read format, I switched to Id Patrol. I am very, very happy with it. I do recommend it for anyone who wants to monitor their credit, because they have more features in the same price point as all of the other credit monitoring services.

Thanks for your question!

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Photo Credit: Dreamstime.com

Their servers were accessed multiple times between November of 2007 and February of 2008 before the theft was discovered. The information that was stolen included the names, birth dates, social security numbers and addresses.

Dominion has promised to mail letters to consumers that they know were affected. However, I would be very cautious, if you have ever done business with them in the past – even if you don’t get a letter!

Dominion and IFMG are also offering a year of free credit monitoring services to customer’s whose information was stolen.

Dominion Enterprise’s President and CEO Conrad M. Hall Released this statement:

“We deeply regret this incident and apologize for the concern and inconvenience it has caused. We are committed to helping those who were affected and strongly encourage them to sign up for the complimentary credit monitoring and to take the action steps outlined in our letter.”

If you think your information may have been stolen, you can contact Dominion here:

Dominion Enterprises
Jennifer Butsch
Public Relations Manager
757-351-7951
jennifer.butsch@dominionenterprises.com

Have a question for us? Leave a comment below!

You can get our future articles for free when you click here.

Keep Reading:

• What To Do If Your Purse Or Wallet is Stolen
• Freezing Your Credit Report: Is It Worth The Hassle?
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Photo Credit: Dreamstime.com

Just a quick question. One of my family members had their purse stolen. Everything they owned was in the purse, from credit cards, checks, social security cards, and so on. Now would Freezing their credit report benefit her? Or would freezing them hinder the progress of getting everything straightend out? The theives did not open any new accounts.

Thanks,

Jack

Thanks for your question Jack! The short answer is yes, she absolutely needs to freeze her credit report as quickly as possible. Any time your purse or wallet is stolen there are ten basic steps that you need to take in order to protect your accounts and your credit rating.

Ten Steps to Combat Identity Theft:

1. File a police report - Call your local police station (not 911). They will help you file a report. Make sure that you keep a copy of the report, and keep the report number handy. You may need it as proof to follow some of the steps below.
2. Call your bank and report your debit card missing / stolen - It is important that you do this as quickly as possible because if you do not you could end up being liable for any charges the thief makes on your card.

Here’s how federal law works: if you report your card stolen before the thief manages to charge on your card, then you are not liable for the charges. If you report it afterwards, the amount of your liability depends on how long you wait – so don’t wait. Do this the instant you have filed your police report, if not sooner. Ask for a new card, with a different account number.

3. Your Checking and Savings Accounts - Close them and stop payment on any checks you have out if possible. Open up new ones, with new account numbers. Your bank should be able to help you.
4. Freeze your credit reports - One of the first things would-be identity thieves do is to try to open up new accounts in your name. If you freeze your credit report it will not matter how many applications for credit someone puts in, they will probably not be able to open new accounts since your credit score will be hidden.

   Freezing your credit reports is a far more effective policy than simply placing a fraud alert since some lending banks could ignore the fraud alert and open new accounts despite the warning. As long as you have a police report there should be no charge to freeze your report at any of the three credit bureaus.

5. Make a list of everything that you know was in your wallet / purse - At the very least you are going to need this list so that you know what you need to replace. You will also need it for step number 6.
6. Start calling your credit card companies - Report the loss of each individual card. Cancel the card, and ask for a new card, with a new account number. By law you are not liable for more than $50 per account if your card is used without your permission, so take a deep breath and relax.
7. Your Driver’s License - You will need to go to your local DMV and report your license as missing, and get a replacement.
8. Your social security card - you will have to go up to your local social security office to get a new social security card. However, you will never be issued a new social security number unless there is proof that someone is using it fraudulently – you will just get a replacement card.
9. Change your locks - If the thief got your keys as well, then you need to change the locks on your house, and if possible, your car. They have your keys. They have your address. Why take a chance?
10. Temporarily purchase a credit monitoring service - especially if you do not freeze your credit report. This will be the first indicator that someone is opening accounts in your name, and right now, I think that it only costs around $30 a month to monitor your reports and scores from all three credit bureaus. Personally, I prefer TransUnion’s credit monitoring service over Experian’s. I have never used Equifax’s, so you may have to check that out yourself. You could also look into companies like Lifelock.

Once you have finally gotten this resolved, don’t forget to get a free copy of your credit report each year. Once someone has your information, it is possible that they always have it, so at the very least check once a year to make sure no new accounts have been opened without your knowledge.

Have a question for us? Leave a comment below!

]]> http://www.askmrcreditcard.com/creditcardblog/what-to-do-if-your-purse-or-wallet-is-stolen/feed/ 4 http://www.askmrcreditcard.com/creditcardblog/freezing-your-credit-report-is-it-worth-the-hassle/ http://www.askmrcreditcard.com/creditcardblog/freezing-your-credit-report-is-it-worth-the-hassle/#comments Fri, 20 Jun 2008 07:45:53 +0000 Jenna http://www.askmrcreditcard.com/creditcardblog/?p=534 A credit report “Freeze” prevents lenders from pulling your credit score, so it could actually prevent would-be identity thieves from opening new accounts in your name. But, is it really worth the trouble?

The credit bureaus aren’t exactly lining up to help you freeze your credit reports, since most of their money is made by selling your credit score and information to prospective lenders.

If you decide that you do want to freeze your credit report as a preventative measure you have to send a request in writing and provide up to seven documents (Driver’s license, Social Security Number, Utility Bills, etc.) as proof of your identity. You have to send all of that information to each of the three main credit bureaus individually. On top of that, you have to pay a fee to freeze and unfreeze your report. Then, when you get ready to apply for a loan, un-freezing your credit report takes several days.

(As a side note it is free for victims of identity theft to freeze their credit reports, but they must provide a police report documenting the theft.)

So, inquiring minds want to know. What do you think of freezing your credit report? Is the potential security worth the hassle, or do you want to be free to apply for credit and pounce on a better offer the minute you see it?

Here are a few facts to consider:

• It is estimated that there are as many as 750,000 cases of identity theft each year.
• It is frighteningly easy to steal someone else’s identity.
• You have to go through about 30,000 miles of red tape if your identity is stolen, including freezing your credit report anyway.
• Freezing your credit report only prevents new lenders from pulling your credit score. It does not prevent thieves from using your current credit card numbers, or bank account information, or your social security number any way they like.

So what do you think? Is the additional protection worth it, or is freezing your credit report something you will deal with only if you have to?

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