Archives for "Identity Theft"
Credit Repair and Your Identity
Identity Theft Concerns
There are a number of reasons you might have a concern about the illicit use of your identity. A lost wallet, unexplained accounts on your credit report, mysterious transactions on a credit card; these can all give rise to very reasonable worries about fraudulent activity and identity theft. These events may be of little consequence, or they may be quite serious. Either way, there are a variety of credit repair solutions that you should implement immediately. Credit repair solutions include investigative, preventative, and curative, and all three should be employed.
Investigate the Issue
If you discover activity on your credit report that is not yours it may be the result of a file merger error. This means that someone else’s credit data has been merged with yours. As awful as this may sound, it is pretty innocent and has an easy credit repair cure. So, before you jump to conclusions about identity theft take a few minutes to investigate. Get copies of all three credit reports, circle the unknown accounts, call the creditors, and ask them if they have an account in your name. If they tell you that they have no record of the suspect account you are a victim of a file merger error. This is easily cured with a bit of credit repair. Just write to the credit bureaus telling them that someone else’s credit is showing on your report, and ask them to correct the error. Be sure to provide your identification. File merger errors are surprisingly common and the credit bureaus will most likely resolve the problem for you right away.
Cure the Problem
If on the other hand, the creditor acknowledges that the questionable account is yours, you may have been a victim of identity theft and should implement a more serious credit repair cure right away. The Fair Credit Reporting Act provides a very powerful solution for identity theft victims. You need to go the police station with a copy of your credit report and ask them to provide you with an Identity Theft Report. You will need to send this to the credit bureaus along with your identification and a signed statement affirming that the accounts in question have nothing to do with any transaction of yours. The credit bureaus will block the suspect accounts with a few days and initiate an investigation.
Prevention of Identity Theft
If you have been a victim of identity theft, or are just concerned about preventing the problem from occurring there are two easy and effective credit repair solutions. The credit bureaus offer a simple warning system called a Fraud Alert. A Fraud Alert is a statement inserted into your credit report requesting that prospective lenders contact you before extending credit. All you need to do is ask the credit bureaus to include this statement on your report, provide them with a contact phone number, and you are all set. There is no charge and the alert will remain on your credit report for 90 days. After 90 days you may extend it if wish. You may also cancel it at any time if you feel that the threat has passed. Fraud Alerts, however, are not foolproof, and some lenders may ignore the alert and extend credit regardless. An excellent ancillary credit repair solution you should implement simultaneously with your Fraud Alert is credit monitoring. Credit monitoring is a service offered by the credit bureaus which will alert you to any activity on your credit including inquiries. You can expect to pay less than $20 per month for this service. If someone attempts to use your identity you will be contact in time to avert the issue.
Consult a Professional
If you have concerns about fraudulent use of your identity you should consult a credit repair professional. Most credit repair services offer a free consultation which you should take advantage of. There may be considerations other than have been mentioned in this article, and every situation is unique. As important as your credit is your should always make informed choices.
Copyright © 2009 Sky Blue Credit Repair. All Content. All Rights Reserved.
Credit Repair and a Lost Wallet
Getting Started
Have you lost your wallet? You will need to cancel your credit cards and get a new drivers license, but it may be more involved. You should take steps to protect your identity too. Here is our overview of the options you need to consider…
Put Fraud Alert on Your Reports
A fraud alert is a message on your credit report notifying potential creditors that your personal information may be used fraudulently, and requests them to contact you by phone prior to extending new credit. An initial fraud alert will remain in place for 90 days, and can be canceled anytime. You may place a fraud alert on all three reports by calling just one of the three bureaus as they are required to contact the other two. You may also initiate your fraud alert online at the bureaus websites. Once the 90 day period is past, you may place an extended fraud alert on your report which will last for seven years, if you feel that your identity is still at risk.
Consider a Credit Freeze
A credit freeze is a more dramatic step you can take to insure that no new accounts are opened in your name. Once a credit freeze is active potential creditors will not be able to access your report. There are exceptions which allow a variety of pre-authorized parties to view your reports. This includes your current creditors who have the right to review your credit, collectors that work for current and past creditors, and companies that offer pre-screened credit. You may lift a credit freeze if you wish to apply for new credit. Unlike fraud alerts, which are available to anyone, credit freeze laws vary from state to state and may not be available in your state. In many cases there are fees associated with placing and lifting a credit freeze. If you are uncertain, ask a credit repair professional for assistance.
Get a Free Credit Report
Once you have placed initiated a fraud alert or credit freeze you may access each of your credit reports one time for free. In the case of an extended seven year fraud alert you may access your reports two times for free within the first year of placing the alert. Keep in mind that everyone has the right to access their reports one time per year for free at annualcreditreport.com. This is a federal law intended to facilitate the identification and repair of credit reporting errors. Instances related to the implementation of a fraud alert or credit freeze do not count against your right to your free annual reports.
Credit Monitoring!
Credit monitoring is a fantastic high-tech tool which can add an extra layer of protection and comfort for anyone whose identity may have been compromised. It is also nice for anyone in a credit repair program wishing to track changes in their reports. Credit monitoring is offered by all three credit bureaus for a small monthly fee. At the time of this writing the cost is under fifteen dollars per month. Once enrolled, you will receive an email whenever there is a credit inquiry or any material change in your credit reports. You will also get unlimited access to your reports. Each bureau has an option that provides you with monitoring from all three bureaus simultaneously.
Social Security Card Replacement
If you have lost your Social Security Card you can get a replacement at no cost. You may get up to three replacement cards per year and up to ten in your lifetime. Just go to your local Social Security Administration office with personal identification and proof of citizenship, such as your birth certificate, certificate of naturalization, or passport, and you will receive a new card in approximately two weeks. You will also get a Social Security Number Certification letter on the spot which can be used in place of a card while you wait.
The Social Security Administration does not get involved in resolving identity theft issues, but if you inform the Social Security Administration that your Social Security number may have been used by another person, they will review your earnings to make sure no one else is using your identification for work purposes.
Copyright © 2007 Sky Blue Credit. All Content. All Rights Reserved.
Credit Repair: Quick Identity Theft Solution
An Unpleasant Possibility
Are there entries on your credit report that do not belong to you? These may be the result of a file merger error on the part of the credit bureaus. Or they may be the result of a more nefarious case of identity theft. The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) gives you very specific and powerful tools to fix identity theft and to quickly block the erroneous information from appearing on your credit report and impacting your credit scores.
Section 611
Most disputes are governed by FCRA Section 611 procedures which rule that “if the completeness or accuracy of any item of information contained in a consumer’s file at a consumer reporting agency is disputed by the consumer and the consumer notifies the agency directly, or indirectly through a reseller, of such dispute, the agency shall, free of charge, conduct a reasonable reinvestigation to determine whether the disputed information is inaccurate and record the current status of the disputed information, or delete the item from the file, before the end of the 30-day period beginning on the date on which the agency receives the notice of the dispute.”
A Powerful Credit Repair Tool
Section 611 procedures are normally fine, but if you have a pending transaction that requires your credit report to be in top form and time is of the essence you should consider getting out the big guns. The FCRA remedy for identity theft is the most powerful and quick acting tool available. But before you utilize this powerful credit repair tool you need to determine that the erroneous information on your report is something more than a file merger problem.
Assess the Situation
Many of the erroneous entries that appear on consumer’s credit reports are due to annoying file merger problems resulting from deficiencies in the credit bureau’s data management systems. These are altogether too common and do not fall into the category of identity theft. If you examine your credit report and discover an account that does not belong to you it is essential to take action immediately. The first step is to call the creditor that is furnishing the data to the credit bureau and ask them if the account is truly under your name. In many cases victims of file mergers discover quickly that these mysterious accounts belong to someone with similar identifying characteristics, like a similar name. In this case your credit repair efforts will fall under Section 611 as indicated above. But if the creditor says that it is your account and verifies your name and address, and you know that this is an account that you never personally opened it is time to act.
The Dispute
An Identity Theft Dispute must include an Identity Theft Report which may be obtained from an authorized agency including, but not limited to, your local police department, the FTC, the States Attorney General Office, and The United States Post Office. In addition to the Identity Theft Report you must include clear proof of your identity, identification of each suspect account on your report, and a statement that the suspect information is not related to any transaction made by you. Don’t make the mistake of providing speculation about the disputed items. The credit bureaus only want the simple facts. Many credit repair efforts are foiled by too much information. Don’t muddy the water.
Immediate Results
Once you have properly submitted an Identify Theft Dispute to one of the credit bureaus they are required to take immediate action. The FCRA (Section 605B) mandates that a credit bureau block the reporting of any information that you have identified as having resulted from identity theft within four business days of the receipt of your dispute. The blocking of information means that it cannot be included on your credit report nor have any impact on your credit scores. To further accommodate your dispute the three credit bureaus, Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion must refer your dispute to each other. This eliminates the burden of dealing with your credit repair project in triplicate. Other rights related to identity theft include Fraud Alerts and Credit Freeze which may or may not be appropriate for your situation.
Contact a Credit Repair Professional
If you feel in doubt about the process and want clarification contact a credit repair professional. Most reputable credit repair companies will offer a free consultation and take the time to clarify any concerns that you may have. If you would rather hire someone instead of doing it yourself, a competent credit repair professional can perform the work for you in an efficient and careful manner.
Copyright © 2007 Sky Blue Credit. All Content. All Rights Reserved.