credit report - 5 Things to Do When You are a Victim of Identity Theft

Identity theft is one of the highest rising crimes in the country. Statistics released by the Better Business Bureau showed that in the past five years nearly 27.3 million people have been a victim of identity theft, 9.9 million in 2003 alone! Consumers need to become more aware of this crime, take steps to avoid becoming a victim and know what to do if they find, or even think they might be a victim of identity theft. Simple steps can be taken to try to make ourselves less of a target. Be sure you shred all personal documents, mail, old credit cards/checks or any type of financial information. Be aware that true companies will NEVER ask for your credit card or social security number over the phone. Never leave ATM receipts at the machines. Be careful what websites you give information to. You may know nothing about a website besides its website address. You never know who is at the other end of the website, a possible predator waiting for your personal information. All of these documents can allow you to become a victim of identity theft. You need to remember it only takes one bit of information to increase your possibility of having your identity taken by a stranger. If you find or even think you have been affected by identity theft there are steps you need to take promptly to reduce the damage that can be done to your credit report. 1. Call the Credit Bureaus and put a "Fraud Alert" on your credit files. Call at least one, if not all three of the credit bureaus (transunion, Equifax and Experian) and inform them that you have had your identity taken. They will put a "fraud alert" on your personal credit file. This will make it nearly impossible for anyone to open any type of credit account with your information. If any type of credit application comes across the bureau, with this alert placed on your report, they will have to contact you to verify the credit application is yours. 2. Contact local authorities Make local authorities aware of the crime so that they may begin to look into helping your instance and possibly stop it from happening from someone else. Say you had mail stolen out of you mailbox, other neighbors may have been or may become a target for the predator. You will also, after reporting the crime, have documentation of the crime to give to creditors if your credit report has already been tampered with. The process of getting information off that has been damaged by the crime is often a long, tedious task and at least you will have the police report to back up your claims of false information on your credit report. 3. Close accounts you think have been affected As mentioned, the process of getting information off of your credit report after becoming a victim of identity theft can be a very long a grueling task. You need to be pro-active and get accounts closed that may be tampered with before damage can be done. According to the Identity Theft Resource Center, nearly 70% of people who had been victims of identity theft said they were still trying to get items on their credit reports that had been affected removed from their reports. 4. Contact the FTC and file a complaint The FTC has generated a database to help law enforcement and give them a better understanding of identity theft and find ways they can help prevent acts in the future as well as ways to assist victims in the future. 5. Watch you credit report for unknown changes You are you most powerful ally. Become proactive and rely on no one but yourself. Take advantage of free credit reports, sign up for monthly services that will give you alerts when there are any changes to your credit report. Identity Theft is a horrible, crime which has very personal affect, which can cause deep emotional distress to think that someone is out there with your identity. Take steps to avoid becoming a victim today. Kimberly has been involved in the financial industry for the past decade. Her gained knowledged has prompted her to begin a campaign to inform consumers of different financial issues to make them more informed about financial issues in their futures. http://www.creditrepairplan.com Article Source:http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kimberly_Kellish credit report - Identity Theft: 5 Keys To Protecting Your Identity The fastest growing crime in America is identity theft. Only 1 in 700 criminals who commit this crime are ever caught. If someone steals your identity it is estimated that it will cost 125 hours and over $1500 to have it corrected. And that is not even the really bad news. If someone opened up a bank account in your name, how soon would you know it? Would you know it when you went to purchase a house? How about when they pulled your credit to buy a car? What about after 3 years and $1000s of dollars in debt. I am going to share with you some steps you can take to protect your identity! 1. Join a Service. There are services out there that will monitor your credit. I am a member of Pre-Paid legal and we offer this type of service. Make sure that you get a service that will provide you with your credit report, monitor your credit and also assist you if something goes wrong. This is where most fall down. 2. You should check your report at least every 4 months if not more often. You can do this for free by requesting your report one of the big 3 once every 4 months. You are allowed one free report a year. Don't order them all at the same time. Order them one at a time and you will stay updated. 3. Protect Your SSN. This is the easiest way to steal your identity. As I said earlier, I really didn't like it when one of the pre-paid credit cards asked for this information. Don't give it out just because some asks. Make an objection if someone ask for it. There should be other ways that they can use to identify you. If they persists, just leave. 4. Put a password on your accounts. This will protect you against someone getting your information and calling in pretending to be you. It should be at least Eight Characters long. Make it a phrase instead of just one word. Don't use your mother's maiden name, pet's names, birth dates or family members name. If you want to keep a list, keep it in a safety deposit box or locked file cabinet. 5. Secure your mailbox. Take your financial information to the post office instead of just leaving it in your mailbox. If you go away on travel or are moving, make sure you have the post office hold your mail. Put in a forwarding address to make sure that no old mail will be sent to the old address. No one will protect your identity better than you. And don't think just because you have bad credit that you will be safe. I used to think that my credit was so bad that if I declared bankruptcy, it would actually raise my score. Even if you have bad credit, make sure to protect it so that it does not get any worse. If someone steals your identity, they steal something very personal. It will then be on your shoulders to prove your innocence. You will be considered guilty until proven innocent. And the creditors will want to get their money from someone. Don't let it be you! Got Credit Power-Empower Your Life!