How Do I Avoid Identity Theft

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My Finance blog » Blog Archive » A Lost Wallet Can Lead to …

August 16th, 2010 |

Many people have faced the horror of a stolen or lost wallet. Knowing how to react, and doing so quickly, will help you avoid bigger problems as a result of such a loss. The faster you react, the more likely it is that you will be able to prevent a problem like identity theft from resulting. Following a few simple guidelines can help you avoid years of credit problems and major financial losses. If you discover your wallet or purse has been stolen, you’ll want to make sure you do everything to prevent any other problems from resulting.

The first thing you should do in response to a lost wallet is deal with any credit cards you had in your wallet. Because a wallet is often stolen as an attempt at identity theft, you’ll want to do everything you can to prevent this from happening to you and damaging your credit. You’ll want to immediately call your credit card companies and report your cards lost or stolen. That will prevent anyone from using the cards. You can access the numbers for the card companies online, if you don’t have them. As long as you act fast, you should be able to prevent your cards from being used.

The next step you should take when it comes to a lost wallet is notifying your police department to file a report. This will help if they either find your wallet or if you run into any problems with creditors as a result. You should also file a fraud alert or credit freeze at all 3 credit bureaus. By notifying them, they will be able to take steps to prevent unnecessary reporting that will affect your credit score. You can then proceed to calling your bank in order to protect any assets you have there.

A lost wallet can be a stressful event that can lead to many problems, including identity theft. Protecting yourself from any damage as a result of your lost or stolen wallet is easy enough if you react quickly. Fixing your credit can be a daunting task for anyone, and the last thing you’ll want to deal with is something as damaging as someone stealing your identity. Getting back on track can be easy enough as long as you take the right precautions and educate yourself about the right things to do to prevent unnecessary damage to your credit score.

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Posted in how do i avoid identity theft |

Tags: Blog Archive, Credit Bureaus, Credit Card Companies, Credit Cards, Credit Freeze, Credit Score, Creditors, Finance, Financial Losses, Fixing Your Credit, Fraud Alert, Horror, identity theft, Police Department, Protect Assets, Purse, Report Cards, Stressful Event, Tas, Wallet |

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Fighting Fraud – Your Online Business's Best Defense : Fight …

July 11th, 2010 |

Author: ID Theft PRO

Credit Card & Interest Free Offers: The Big Risks in the Fine …

April 18th, 2010 |

Author: ID Theft PRO

Before you take advantage of no interest deals from retailers or get lulled into thinking that credit cards are now your friends, check out these credit myths.

There are so many things flowing these days, the Cash for Appliances rebates, tax refunds and stimulus packages just to name a few. Then add in the CARD Act meant to eliminate some of the burn from using credit cards. It may seem like a “kinder, gentler” time to use credit cards and just say “charge it,” but there’s still a lot of fine print that stores and cards that offer credit are hoping you won’t pay any attention to.

Before you take advantage of no interest deals from retailers or get lulled into thinking that credit cards are now your friends, check out these credit myths.

“If I Make Every Payment on Time, Credit Cards Won’t Raise My Rate”

It’s true that credit card companies can’t raise your rate for no reason without 45 days notice and that now they can only raise your rate on future charges, not existing balances theirs is one catch. If you make a late payment elsewhere and your credit card company runs a credit check, they can still use this information to increase your interest rate.

So beware that any late payments can affect your credit and ultimately your interest rates even if you’re making payments on that credit card on time. Ideally you should make all payments on time to avoid being penalized.

“No Interest for a Year Means I Don’t Have to Make a Payment for a Year.”

These offers from retailers are often made for big purchases whether jewelry of furniture or appliances. It’s true that you don’t have to make a payment for a year BUT in most cases if you don’t pay off the entire balance during that time then not only will the interest rate be high, it will often also be retroactive. In the end, you will be not only paying interest but paying a lot of it.

Chi Chi Wu, a staff attorney at the National Consumer Law Center says, “Even if consumers understand the pitfalls, such a tactic relies on consumer optimism or failure to think of the worst.” The worst of course being that an illness or job loss would prevent the purchaser from making payments on time.

These “deals” are really only deals if you can pay off the entire balance within the no interest period and that’s the only way you will really avoid paying interest.

“My Credit Cards are Accepted Around the World. Who Needs Traveler’s Checks?”

Sure you can shop the globe on line or jet set around the world and find many places that will accept most of your credit cards BUT beware of the currency conversion fees. For example, both Master Card and Visa charge 1% conversion fees but what’s worse is that many banks, like Bank of America, charge additional 2% so you could be adding a 3% fee to every purchase while you travel.
Maybe the convenience is worth it to you but be advised and do the math to avoid surprising bites from budget.

Sure it’s all there in the fine print but retailers and credit card companies spend a lot of time marketing just the messages that they want you to see. They’re hoping you’ll overlook the fine print and that you won’t miss the extra money going down the drain either.

Posted by Lisa Carey on April 17, 2010 01:48 PM | Permalink
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Tags: Amp, Appliances, Consumers, Credit Card Companies, Credit Check, Credit Myths, Furniture, Gentler Time, Interest Deals, Interest Rate, Interest Rates, Jewelry, Late Payments, Many Things, Rebates, Staff Attorney, Stimulus, Tax Refunds, Time Credit, Using Credit Cards |

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What is Phishing? Avoid Becoming a Victim

January 5th, 2010 |

Author: ID Theft PRO

Phishing is a criminally fraudulent process made in attempt to scam an Internet user into surrendering private information that will be used for identity theft. It is usually made through email. Phishing is a lucrative computer crime which is growing rapidly in the last few years. The best way to protect against phishing is to know how to recognize it.

How Does Phishing Work?

Phishing is usually made by email or IM. You will receive a message that may appear to be from a friend, a business, a government agency or some other legitimate entity. For example, a lot of phishing messages appear to be from credit card companies or banks. Some appear to be from major online retailers, such as, Amazon, ebay and PayPal. Some will be from organizations or companies you have never dealt with before so they will be easier for you to detect.

A phishing message may state that the company or organization it has been sent from has data problems and your private information needs verification. The message usually has a link that you are supposed to click on in order to validate your private information. When you click on that link you will be directed to a fake website that resembles the original website that the phishing message pretends to be from. Phishers will do anything in order to convince you that you are in a legitimate website. They will have a similar URL as the original website and the appearance of the fake website will be identical to the original one. You will be asked to enter your personal details, most likely in a popup window. These details may include your credit card number and password, your account details and password etc. When you enter your personal information phishers will harvest your data and exploit it. They may drain your account immediately or sell your personal information to someone else. A phishing message could also have an attachment that when clicked on infects your PC with malware.

How to Detect a Phishing Message

Most important is to remember that legitimate businesses should not ask for personal details via email or by popup window. If you encounter such an email or IM then it is probably a phishing message.
If an email asks you to “verify your information” or “confirm your user and password” then it is probably a phishing message.
If an email states consequences that will occur if you do not verify your details then it is probably a phishing message.

Avoid Becoming a Victim

When getting a phishing email, do not click on the link or the attachments that appear in the message and delete it immediately. If you are not sure that it is a phishing message open a new browser page and enter the URL of the legitimate business manually.

Be aware that your PC may be infected by malware that can take over your browser requests and whenever you ask for your bank website or credit card company website it will direct your browser to a fake website in order to steal your personal information.

The best precaution when getting a suspicious email is to obtain the support or customer service departments details of the legitimate business that presumably sent you the message (not by using the email or the Internet) and contact them in order to validate authenticity.

Posted in how do i avoid identity theft |

Tags: Account Details, Amazon, Appearance, Banks, Computer Crime, Credit Card Companies, Credit Card Number, Ebay, Email, Government Agency, identity theft, Internet User, Lot, Major Online Retailers, Phishing, Popup Window, Url |

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Steps To Take If You Are A Victim Of Identity Theft

June 18th, 2009 |

Author: ID Theft PRO

Identity theft can be one of our worst nightmares, since the stolen identity is always used for illegal purposes. Apart from having your identity stolen from you, you could also become a target of litigation from parties hurt by the actions of the identity thief.

So what should you do if you ever become a target of identity theft? This article provides information on what to do after you discover that your identity has been stolen.

What To Do After Identity Theft
Here are some steps to take once you discover your security has been compromised by an identity thief.

1) Let The Credit Rating Agencies Know
The credit rating agencies should be told about the theft as soon as possible. Creditors will need to contact you before they give loans to anyone approaching them for credit on your behalf. Try to get the fraud alert extended to seven years from the current 90 days. File all credit reports you receive, since it is crucial as evidence to show identity theft.

2) Keep An Eye On Credit Reports
Keep monitoring credit reports, so fraudulent accounts in your name are not opened. Keep reviewing your credit reports and look into the credit companies you have not had any dealings with.

3) Close Dubious Accounts
If you feel that some accounts have been opened by the identity thief, or there has been unauthorized access to the accounts, close them. Have the credit card companies and your bank notified by mail, so that you have a record stating that they were formally notified.

4) Opening New Accounts
Use new personal identification numbers and passwords if you wish to open new accounts. Ensure that the passwords are such that someone else cannot guess them.

5) Stopping Doubtful Transactions
If you feel that any transaction related to your account or credit card number is fraudulent, use fraud dispute forms available at the bank to state your claim. If you want the bank to consider your request, you need to prove that you have been a victim of identity theft. You can submit a copy of the police report or submit proof that your signatures have been forged.

6) Report To The Police
Report the identity fraud to the police as soon as possible. Get an affidavit from the police station to prove the crime, since banks and credit card companies will ask for the affidavit to be submitted before they take action to close accounts that have been compromised.

The above steps will help you close fraudulent accounts opened in your name and keep further fraud from being committed in your name. Report the identity fraud as soon as you discover it to the proper authorities.

Posted in Bank Identity Theft, Computer Identity Theft, Corporate Identity Theft, Credit Card Identity Theft, Criminal Identity Theft, ID Theft Prevention, Online Identity Theft, Spoofing, The Law On Identity Theft, What Is Identity Theft |

Tags: Credit Card Companies, Credit Card Number, Credit Rating Agencies, credit reports, Creditors, Fraud, how do i avoid identity theft, identity theft, Identity Theft Prevention, Identity Theft Protection, Illegal Purposes, Litigation, Loans, Mail, New Accounts, New Passwords, Nightmares, Passwords, Personal Identification Numbers, Personal Numbers, Seven Years, Target, Thief, Unauthorized Access, Victim Of Identity Theft |

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