Visit the Identity Theft Prevention & Recovery
Blog sponsored by
ID Experts
In this blog, you will hear from experts in identity theft who will discuss
recent news and legislation, scams & alerts, as well as providing sound and
useful advice on protecting yourself from this growing crime.
Recent Tip
Free Credit Reports?
Everyone should check their credit reports at least once a year to make sure
that all of the information contained in them is accurate and up to date. You
should also check your reports for any information that is fraudulent, which
could signal that you are the victim of identity theft. This includes accounts
as well as personal information such as addresses and phone numbers.
There's only one legitimate source where you can obtain your FREE credit reports
and that's annualcreditreport.com.
The law requires that each of the major credit reporting agencies - Equifax,
Experian, and TransUnion - make available to you a copy of your credit report
every year at no charge.
If you are ever online and are asked to enter a credit card number in order to
obtain a copy of your credit report, DON'T DO IT. Many of the companies that
advertise free credit reports and credit scores will enroll you in services
that you don't want or need. Cancelling these services once you've given over
your billing information can be difficult or downright impossible.
Government Resources
FTC
Identity Theft Site
This website is a one-stop national resource to learn about the crime of
identity theft. It provides detailed information to help you deter, detect, and
defend against identity theft.
Credit Offer Opt-Out Site
Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), the big credit bureaus are
permitted to include your name on lists used by creditors or insurers to make
offers of credit or insurance that are not initiated by you. The FCRA also
provides you the right to "Opt-Out", which prevents these big bureaus from
selling or giving your personal information to these companies.
AnnualCreditReport.com
Site
This site allows you to request a free credit file disclosure, commonly called
a credit report, once every 12 months from each of the big consumer credit
reporting companies: Equifax, Experian and TransUnion.
FTC
ID Theft Booklet
IRS ID Theft Sheet
National Treasury, Do's and Donts
Scams & Fraud
College Credit Card Scam: CBS Early Show, 2007
"A college student who ran one of the credit card booths was responsible for
posting my information. Even though I now have a new Social Security number, I
constantly have to monitor my credit reports. I have had to explain all of this
to employers who run background checks on me. Those free T-shirts wound up
costing me $150,000!"
Dangers
on Facebook, 2007
ID fraudsters target Facebook and other social networking sites to harvest
information about you. Sophos makes recommendation for setting Facebook privacy
options and developing good practices to protect against online identity theft.