Its real. Bank of America, HSBC and LexisNexus have reported serious identity thefts – and Mastercard just reported the hacking of records of over 40 million people. Your credit can be damaged and fixing it will cost you time, money, headaches and a sweaty phone ear. Other truths: there are fake companies that call you to say they are “updating records” on behalf of your bank or credit card. There are also phisher sites: you’ve seen them: fake web sites designed to fool you into entering personal information for the purpose of identity theft.
Now that you’ve got the shakes, here are ways to deal with it. To best understand why its hard to control theft of your own identity, you should know how credit reporting works: when someone applies for a bank account, loan, or credit card, the institution calls on one or more of the three credit bureaus: Experian, Trans Union and Equifax. These three maintain your credit report and control to whom your information is given out. When someone steals your ID or social security number, they can go to a bank or credit card and simply use your number with their address.
If you have had your wallet/purse stolen or lost, see the steps to take here. Other steps are merely preventative. There’s no way to ensure that you won’t be targeted for identity theft, but you can take several measures to reduce your vulnerability:
Monitor your credit: get your annual free credit report. The new federal “fair and accurate credit transaction,” or “FACT act” mandates that all consumers can receive a free copy of their credit report once each year. You can visit them here, or call 1.877.FACTACT to receive your free report or seek more information. It would be smart to review your report annually to ensure that your credit is being fairly and accurately reported.
Put ‘em on hold: call the fraud unit of the crediting companies: Equifax (1-800-525-6285), Experian (1-888-397-3742) and Transunion (1-800-680-7289) …and ask to place an initial 90-day fraud alert on your account. This alert, which can be extended to seven years, requires financial companies to call you before giving you credit.
Guard your social security number: it is the key to your credit report and banking accounts. Maintain a need-to-know attitude before giving it out. We were recently in a retail store and when paying, a cashier asked for our social security number. When we asked why, she backpeddled and asked for our home phone number. This was the store’s clever way to gain further info on us as consumers. Do some places really need to know your social security number? No. If they insist, ask if another number instead of your social security number can be used. The only place you should carry your number is in your head, otherwise keep it locked and secured at home or in a safe deposit box. And don’t have your number imprinted on checks.
Shred it all:, we got one years ago and we use it monthly. All mail that contains personal or account information should be shredded. Don’t assume that just because you throw something out it is gone. Make sure of it by shredding the documents. Don’t forget to also shred those daily credit card applications we all get in the mail, like, everyday.
For more info, see also The Identity Theft Resource Center.
“Dated material, open immediately”, give us a break.
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