TFV Blog Money Management Identity Theft Prevention
Identity Theft Prevention
Let's face it, there are some people in the world that are just too lazy to work hard, they would rather steal for a living. There are people who steal cars, break into house to steal TV's and other valuables, rob banks for money, steal from liquor stores, pharmacy's, you name it if someone has something that an unethical, immoral and lazy person wants, they will figure out a way to steal it.
This concept does not stop at material possessions. There are people out there who make it their profession to steal identities. Why would anyone want to steal someone's identity?
Well, besides the obvious flaws in character, it is basically because it is easier to steal an identity then it is to rob a bank and the crooks get the same return with less risk.
Identity theft does not just happen when a stranger takes your identity. Many times, this crime is committed by relatives. Yes, that's right, the very people you should be able to trust are also the very people who have the easiest access to your information.
I am personally aware of a husband who has opened and charged credit cards under his wives name. He doesn't think he did anything wrong because "it's his wife" but as far as the law is concerned, it is theft and fraud. His wife is not being hounded by bill collectors, receives summons from the sheriff to appear in court for failure to pay. Her credit has been ruined all because her husband stole her identity.
I am also aware of parents opening up credit under their childrens name. This is becoming more common as it is so easy to do.
Is this identity theft? Yes it is, both examples. Identity theft is not just about someone stealing your name and living as if they are you. It is about someone stealing your credit, which causing you, the victim, much grief and many times you don't even know it has happened to you until you apply for a loan, try to buy a house, or sometimes all of a sudden get a bill in the mail that you never knew you had.
So what can be done to combat this? We can't control anyone but ourselves and knowledge is power when it comes to these types of crimes.
First there are services out there that will monitor your credit and alert you if there is a request for a new form of credit under your name. These services require paying a monthly or annual fee and they are not fool proof, but do offer a guarantee that they will pay up to a certain amount to get the situation corrected for you.
I am all about saving money. Most of these paid services do what you could be doing on your own. Yes, there is an advantage to the paid service in that they will do the leg work for you if there is an incident of identity theft but for the most part identify theft is about being pro-active to prevent it rather than being reactive to fix it once it happens.
So what can you do to help prevent identity theft from happening to you?
Visit AnnualCreditReport and pull your credit report. By law you can pull a free report from each agency once a year. I would recommend spreading this out throughout the year. So first quarter you pull your report from TransUnion, next quarter you pull Equifax, and so on. That way you are monitoring throughout the year, and it is free to you.
Stop all unsolicited credit offers by going to OptOutPrescreen. Have you ever counted how many offers you receive in the mail each year for credit cards and equity loans? It is so easy for someone to "snatch" one of those offers and fill it out under your name and that is the start of an identity theft. Also, stopping these offers cuts down on what I consider "junk" coming into the house as well as helps the environment by reducing land fill trash.
Place a fraud alert on your credit at all reporting agencies. This will place an alert at the agencies so that if someone does attempt to get credit in your name you will be notified prior to approval. With that said, this is not infallible, I have heard of instances where the agency passes the credit request through without your approval, but it is better to have this in place than not. It does take some scheduling on your part. The alert only lasts for 3 months then you have to contact the agencies to place it again. It is on my calendar as a "to do" the first of every quarter and it only takes a few minutes and is all automatated with a phone call. When you place the alert the recording will state that the agency will report this to the other agencies, take care of yourself, report it yourself to all three agencies.
So that is it in a nutshell. Protecting yourself from identity theft is no different than locking your car doors or insuring the deadbolt is set on the front door of your house. A little bit of pro-active protection is not fool proof, but sure does deter most as it is far easier to steal from someone not protected than someone who is.