Identity theft, which is now an increasing crime across US, is the stealing of personal information of the victim like the social security number, date of birth, maiden name of your mother, your complete address or your credit card number. With the help of this personal information, the identity thief can operate the victim’s bank accounts, transfer balances from one account to another, apply for a new line of credit or a credit card, and create an account with utility companies in the name of the victim or to rent an apartment in the name of the victim. The thief may use your social security number to get a driving license in your name with changed picture and address claiming that he has changed his place of communication, so that the credit card gets delivered in his address. But due to the link of the credit card with your social security number, the debt will be listed in your credit report for which you will suffer from low credit score.
Among the most numerous ways of getting access to your identity. The popular among them include stealing mails from your mailbox or obtaining old credit card and utility bills from the paper bins which you throw away carelessly in those bins. The thief may also steal your purse to get your credit card and other personal details and use the information to take financial advantage. So the first step towards your security is to keep the personal information out of the reach of outsiders. Another thing you may do is to destroy the old bills into numerous pieces before throwing them in the bins so that the information cannot be retrieved from those bills.
So to prevent identity theft, the first thing is to become aware of the fact of how to use your personal information. You should always remember your social security number, date of birth and passwords and never write it down somewhere and carry with you. Moreover, you should immediately report any loss of your credit card to the credit card company so that they can lock your card. Although the maximum liability for unauthorized use of your lost credit card under the Federal laws is $50, you should report the loss immediately without any delay to prevent identity theft.
Now if find your identity already stolen and the thief has taken financial advantage from it, you should immediately report it to the Federal Trade Commission by filling up the identity theft complaint form online and register with them as a new victim of identity theft. You should also update the complaint by calling them at their hotline number 1-877-438-4338 even if you have filed the complaint online. Next, you should take the copy of the complaint form with your photograph and identity proof to the local police and file a complaint there and inform the creditor that you have been a victim of identity theft.
Now if at point of time you become aware of the fact that you identity (social security number, or your credit card number) is stolen, you can immediately place a fraud alert service with any one of the three credit bureaus. Once your place the alert service with any one of them, the other two bureaus would be reported immediately and the creditor will verify by calling you up before opening a new line of credit in your name. The fraud alert service is provided by the bureaus free of any charge and can be activated by calling any of the three bureaus (Experian: (888) 397-3742, Trans Union: (800) 680-7289 and Equifax: (800) 525-6285)
2 comments:
Very Helpful. Someone used my SSN in 2002 to open a bank credit card. In 2006, they stopped paying and its now in the hands of a lawyer to collect. I've asked for info on the account, since all I have is a call from the lawyer. When does my 30 days start? I rec'd the letter 2 weeks after the call. My credit rating has always been and is excellent. Isn't the bank/creditor at fault here for not updating the bureaus with the existience of the account and its good/bad history of payment/charegoff? (I think the actual owner/crook of the account just died in Oct and that is why I was contacted.)
Your 30 days start from the date you have received the call from the lawyer. You need to ask for debt validation within this period. If it is the case of identity theft, then you must not have signed the credit card agreement papers, and the creditor will not be able to provide you with the copy of the agreement papers with your signature on it. Hence it will not be a proper debt validation and you may not be required to pay off the debt
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