the boomer live

Identity fraud and credit fraud is getting more prevalent.  Identify thieves can  get the necessary information to compromise your credit/identity in a variety of ways.  Stealing outgoing mail from your mail box,  Internet scams that promise a $$$$ and require personal information to join,  or an email “from your bank” requesting updates to your personal information etc. etc.

Here are a just few ways to help protect yourself, if you can suggest others please leave a comment to alert others:

Your mail box:  When paying bills  with checks or credit card information or sending personal information in the mail don’t put the envelope in the mail box outside your house (where it can be stolen), drop it off at a USPS mail box or post office.

Internet scams: There are many scams that promise a lot of $$ for little investment but require personal information to join.  Don’t fall for these, if you think you may have been caught in one of these scams, see “How to Protect yourself and “Most Secure” below.

Emails from “Your Bank”: If you get an email from “your bank or credit card company” requesting that you confirm personal information DO NOT click any links in the email and DO NOT call any phone numbers on the email.  If you want to confirm if the email is real call the phone number on your credit card or the phone number on your bank statement and ask them if they sent the email.

Phone Calls: You might get a phone call from “your” doctor, mortgage company, insurance company, bank, etc. etc. that requests some personal information so they can update their files.  NEVER give the information, ask who is calling, hang up, and then call them back  on a number that you know is correct for that person or business (not on a number that they may give you). 

These are just some of the ways identity thieves are trying to get your information.

How To Protect Yourself: There are ways you can protect yourself from identity thieves opening accounts in your name.  Most states allow you to put a “freeze” on your credit information that is held by the big three credit agencies.  This freeze means that someone with your personal information will have great difficulty in opening a  credit account using your details.  BUT it also means that you cannot open a credit account unless you request a “temporary lift” of the freeze.  To set up the freeze or request  temporarily lift costs approx $10.  For anyone over 65 its free, check your States Attorney General web site for rules and costs .

You are allowed to request one free credit check from each of the big three credit agencies once a year,  put it in your diary to request a different one every 4 months and check to see if there is any unusual activity.

Most Secure:The most secure method is to have your credit monitored.  These services work in a variety of ways, but basically if any enquires are made on your credit info, they contact you.  If its an unauthorized request you can immediately take action to stop it.  Here are a couple of companies that provide credit watch services, but there are many more.

Equifax Credit One of the big three credit agencies, offers different programs, monitors all 3 credit reporting agencies.

LifeLock Identity Theft Prevention is an independent business that does a similar job.

I do not necessarily endorse any of the above companies but have included them to show you what is available.

If your identity is compromised it can can cost $1000′s and a lot of time to correct so please be careful.

Update 9/25/08:  You can get your free credit reports here ANNUAL CREDIT REPORT , Its the official site set up so that consumers can get their free annual credit report.