Steps to take to recover from Identity Theft

Identity theft is becoming an issue that affects more and more people each day. No matter how careful you think that you have been with your personal information, there is still a high chance that it may happen to you. If you have been the victim of identity theft there are a number of steps that you need to take:

1. Stay Calm and Make Notes
The ways that you are likely to be alerted to the possibility of your identity being stolen include when you find your wallet missing, or you have a call from a collection agency relating to a debt that is not yours. It is important to stay calm, and take down as much detail as you can.

2. Limit Further Damage
Do not give out any more of your personal information. This includes opting out of any programs that share personal information.

3. Change All Passwords
Change all passwords that you have previously used. Ensure that they are very different from the old ones and that you do not save them online or on your computer.

4. Contact a Credit Report Agency (CRA)
There are three national credit report agencies; Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. Just contact one of them and ask for a fraud alert to be put on your credit reports. They will inform the other two. This will prevent any further accounts being opened in your name. Also ask for a free copy of your credit report so that you can see if anything unusual is on them.

5. Close Unauthorized Accounts and Report Lost Checks and Cards
This should be done as soon as possible to lower the amount of your possible liability for any fraudulent activity. Report lost checks, ATM, debit, prepaid, gas station, phone, department store, or any other cards to the appropriate company or bank.

6. Call All Financial Companies for Information
You need to contact all of the financial organizations that you have had dealings with. You can then begin to assess when the identity theft occurred. Also, you should close any accounts that have been abused.


7. Contact Social Security and the State Department
You should do this, even if your Social Security card and passports have not been stolen.

8. Lodge a Complaint with the Federal Trade Commission
This is important to enable local and national law enforcement officers to track down identity thieves. They may also be able to offer you some help and support, so don’t be afraid to ask.

9. File a Report with your local police
This is often required by some of your creditors before you can obtain any information. However, it is more important to do this when you are certain that you have been the victim of identity theft.

10. Get organized
Find all of your paperwork and make sure that there are no consecutive ones missing as this may indicate that they are being sent to another address.

11. Block Erroneous Information on Your Credit Report
Once you have identified which are fraudulent transactions, and have proof, you can ask the credit bureaus to block these from your report.

12. Stop Information from Being Reported to Consumer Reporting Agencies (CRA)
Contact all companies that send reports to CRAs with proof of the identity theft, and tell them what information you do not want passed on.

13. Query Bills
Send proof in writing about the amounts that you are disputing. State that you are happy to cooperate with any investigation but you are not going to pay the bill.

14. Be Prepared to Deal with Wrongful Criminal Cases
Your identity may have been used in the commission of a crime. If this happens then you can contact the court where any judgment has been made and provide proof of your identity theft. If this is not successful then you can contact the Department of Justice.

15. Get a Lawyer
They will help you to decide if you want to take legal action of any kind. A specialist in consumer law, the Fair Credit Reporting Act, and the Fair Credit Billing Act is most suitable.


16. Keep All Personal Information Safe
To prevent this from happening again, you need to store items with personal information on securely and ensure that you dispose of everything properly by shredding it before you throw it in the trash.

17. Be Thorough
Check the FTC ID Theft website and others to ensure that you have not overlooked anything.

Don’t expect everything to be worked out in a few days. These things take time and, depending on how long the thief has had your identity for, it may be months before you can get yourself back on track. Keep at it, and don’t be disheartened.

Read more »

REMOVING BAD CREDIT FOR IDENTITY THEFT VICTIMS

Identity Theft ranks as the number one complaint to the FTC year after year and accounted for 37% of all complaints in 2005. Identity Theft is a real problem in today’s society. Your good credit rating can be damaged when someone uses your personal information without your permission to open credit accounts. The purpose of this article is to outline some of the steps that you can take to have the bad credit that results from this activity removed from your credit report.

If you suspect that your identity has been stolen, then you must immediately contact the CRA’s (Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion) to have a Fraud Alert added to your credit file. A Fraud Alert will help prevent the thief from opening any new accounts in your name. You must also contact the fraud department of any company that you know or suspect has had an account opened or tampered with and you must have those accounts closed immediately.

The next step involves filing an identity theft report. This is an important step. Under the “Police Report Initiative” credit bureaus will automatically block fraudulent accounts and bad debts from appearing on your credit report. You will need to file a report. Unfortunately, there is no federal law requiring a federal agency to take a report about identity theft. State laws vary and depending on your geographic location, you may be told that identity theft is not a crime under state law. If this is the case then the FTC recommends that you request to file a “Miscellaneous Incidents” Report instead. Florida (myfloridalegal.com) has an identity theft law, allowing the report to be filed in the location in which the offense occurred, or, the county in which you reside.

The FTC has an ID Theft Affidavit (consumer.gov/idtheft/pdf/affidavit.pdf) that is accepted by many companies (some creditors require a different or additional forms). The affidavit should be completed and notarized and contains a Fraudulent Account Statement that must be copied for as many accounts that will be disputed on the basis of identity theft.



The following excerpts are from the FTC’s website (consumer.gov/idtheft/con_resolv.htm#correct):

“Consumer reporting companies will block fraudulent information from appearing on your credit report if you take the following steps: Send them a copy of an identity theft report and a letter telling them what information is fraudulent.”

————————————————–

Sample Blocking Letter Consumer Reporting Company


Date
Your Name
Your Address
Your City, State, Zip Code

Complaint Department
Name of Consumer Reporting Company
Address
City, State, Zip Code

Dear Sir or Madam:

I am a victim of identity theft. I am writing to request that you block the following fraudulent information in my file. This information does not relate to any transaction that I have made. The items also are circled on the attached copy of the report I received. (Identify item(s) to be blocked by name of source, such as creditors or tax court, and identify type of item, such as credit account, judgment, etc.)

Enclosed is a copy of the law enforcement report regarding my identity theft. Please let me know if you need any other information from me to block this information on my credit report.

Sincerely,
Your name

Enclosures: (List what you are enclosing.)
————————————————–




Note: “The consumer reporting company has four business days to block the fraudulent information after accepting your identity theft report.”

“Information providers will stop reporting fraudulent information to the consumer reporting companies once you send them an identity theft report and a letter explaining that the information that they’re reporting resulted from an identity theft”

Read more »

Greetings Everyone!

2008 is the year of money and success, take advantage of the housing prices while they are dropping and get that credit in gear!

Congress has approved a 'stimulus' package to assist in boosting the spending for all Americans. Your family will benefit with a check to your home for up to $1200.00! That's not a whole lotta moola, BUT it is depending on "how" you spend it.

If your credit is less than stellar, maybe consider using that $$ to invest in a credit building and restoration program. There are some opportunities that could come your way that without a solid credit score you could totally miss out.

If you want to buy rental properties, you need a solid credit score! Lenders aren't taking the risks they did in 2005, 2006 and 2007! BE PREPARED!

If government contracting is an interest of yours, a bond is in your future AND THAT MEANS, a solid credit score is needed to secure bonds, especially for high dollar projects like construction - BE PREPARED!

If you want a loan to expand your homebase or small business, YOUR personal credit will get reviewed...BE PREPARED!

If anything in this email grabs your attention, you are affected and you should contact me! I can tailor a program that fits your needs and puts the spring back in your game!

Love to hear from you!

Alexis - The Credit DIVA!

Read more »

10 Tips for Boosting your credit TODAY!

10 TIPS FOR BOOSTING YOUR CREDIT TODAY!

If your credit rating is faltering or has hit rock bottom, there are ways that you can boost your credit score. It is easier than you think and these ten tips will help to get you on your way.

1. Obtain all three copies of your credit report.There are three main credit reporting agencies and not all companies will report to all three of them. It is vital that you obtain copies of your credit report from all three agencies. This way, if you have a problem on one report it may not necessarily show up on the other reports and you can still ward off any mistakes or issues. Don't just get a report from one of the "big three" agencies, get all of them.

2. Check your credit report often.Experts advise checking your credit report at least once a year. Some people, however, obtain their reports as often as every quarter. It really depends on the activity and other factors as to how often you should check. The common consumer who only has a few lines of credit can probably get away with checking less often. It is important, though, to check your credit report so that you can ward off any problems, issues or even unauthorized activity.

3. Delete your negative credit.If you have any negative credit such as delinquent accounts or slow payment history you need to work to bring it all current. Pay on delinquent accounts to get them to a current status. You should also begin to make regular, timely payments on a payment history that is slow or lagging. If you can pay your delinquent accounts all at one time to bet them to a current status, but if that is not a possibility, you can pay on the accounts in increments and pay it a little at a time until current.

4. Don’t close old accounts.While you may be tempted to close old accounts, resist that temptation. Keeping old accounts open and current will show as current accounts on your report. This will show that you have active, good credit and will help to boost your rating. The longer that you have revolving credit accounts with no negative reports, the better it makes your credit appear. This translates to a better overall credit score. Many credit experts advise that you keep a balance a balance or 30 percent of your credit limit.

5. Pay your bills on time - always.You may think that this tip is rather obvious, but it still stands to be repeated. Your credit score can begin to decline even if you are only 30 days late in payment. Even if you pay every month, if you pay late every month, you are still damaging your credit. Your best bet is to make your payments on time every single month.

6. Use credit to pay for credit.This is an old, tried and true technique for credit building. Get a secured credit card for "x" amount of dollars. Once you receive your card, get a cash advance of 70 percent of your credit limit. Do this with a second and third cards as well, using the cash advance from the previous card. Open a checking account with the cash advance on the third card. Use this checking account solely for making payments on your three cards. Pay on time each month and your credit score will increase. It may drop initially because of the three accounts taken out so quickly in succession, but within 4 months it will have rebounded and your score will be greater.

7. Keep different types of credit.Diversify your credit with revolving accounts, unsecured loans and secured loans. This shows that you are able to manage several different types of credit at once. Get a vehicle, mortgage or personal loan so that you can have an installment loan on your credit report and charge cards give you the revolving credit. This shows that you can handle short term credit, long term credit, fixed payments and variable monthly payments.

8. Don't file for bankruptcy.While bankruptcy may seem like an easy way to get out of debt, resist the temptation. Don't file for bankruptcy or foreclosure; they remain on your credit report for 10 years and will cause your credit score to plummet. However, the older a bankruptcy becomes (as long as it is combined with a credit history that is rebuilt), the less impact it will have on your credit score.

9. Don't open new lines of credit.Do not open new lines of credit unless you absolutely must. Every time that you apply for credit there is an inquiry that is placed on your report. This often causes your credit score to drop slightly. This is more important when you are just starting out or when you are rebuilding credit because you either show no payment history or a negative payment history. That, combined with a lowered score can show you as a credit risks to creditors.

10. Stay on top of all credit issues.As soon as you realize that there is a problem with your credit, you need to take care of it as soon as possible. When you are staying on top of your credit issues you can ward off problems that will destroy your credit score. This strategy will also help you ward off fraudulent activity that may occur on your account due to thieves and identity theft.
When you use these tips to boost your credit rating you will see great results. Your credit rating will improve and you will have better access to credit if you never need it for emergencies.

Read more »