March 2005

New Law Protects Your Identity

Special to the Realite by Greg Souther

Identity theft is the fastest growing crime in the United States.   Identity crooks are looking for your information and don't care how they get it.

The cost of identity theft is high. The Identity Theft Resource Center found that nearly 7 million people were victims of identity theft in 2003.   They estimate identity theft victims spend between 500-700 hours recovering from the crime and can lose roughly $16,000 in potential income.

Armed with this information, Congress passed the Fair and Accurate Credit Transaction Act (FACTA) in December 2004 to help protect consumers from identity thieves. The law also makes it easier for victims to file police reports and requires creditors to safeguard and dispose of sensitive consumer information.

If you haven't seen your credit report lately, I recommend that you contact each of the national credit reporting agencies NOW and get a free copy of your report.   All credit reports are not created equal, and you'll need to review each report for errors, duplicates and transactions you may not be aware of.   By correcting errors and duplicates, you can help your credit score in a positive way.

Currently in Georgia, you're entitled to two free credit reports each year.   That's good, considering that until the new law was passed, consumers in almost every state had to pay to get a copy of their report (unless they were turned down for credit).

However, if you want to see your credit point score, there is still a charge of $6.95 from each agency.  

If you suspect you're a victim of identify theft, you can file a police report and put a fraud alert on your personal credit file.   An alert will block any creditor from extending credit based on your credit report without contacting you first.   If a lender extends credit after a fraud alert is placed on your file, they can be held liable.

Here are a few other things I recommend:

1. Consider checks as the same as cash to a crook! Don't leave them lying around at home or in an unlocked car.   Change the information on your checks.   Don't include your Social Security number, birth date, or phone number.   Use only your first and middle initials and last name on checks.   Have your checks sent to the bank or a post office box for pick up.

2. Don't give out sensitive information over the Internet or phone.   Your bank will not call or send e-mail asking you to verify your name, address, Social Security number, account numbers, etc.   Your bank already knows that information.

3. Make copies of all the information (front and back) that you carry in your wallet.   If these items are stolen, you'll need these numbers in order to alert the credit card companies. Speaking of credit cards, I recommended not only signing the credit card, but also writing on the back “CHECK PHOTO ID" in bold, red permanent letters.

To learn more about FACTA, visit the Federal Trade Commissions website.

Greg Souther Consulting & Seminars provides training and consulting to businesses in the areas of customer service and communication; credit and collections; fraud and security; and marketing and sales. You can contact Greg or visit his website.

To get a credit report or place a fraud alert on your file contact:

Equifax Consumer Credit Report: 1-800-685-1111
Equifax Fraud Alert Line: 1-800-525-6285

www.equifax.com

Experian Consumer Credit Report: 1-888-397-3742

Experian Fraud Alert Line: 1-888-397-3742

www.experian.com

Trans Union Consumer Credit Report: 1-800-916-8800

Trans Union Fraud Victim Assistance: 1-800-680-7289

www.transunion.com

More Info:  Federal Trade Commission

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