As of November 1, 2007, the three National Credit Bureaus, Equifax, Transunion and Experian, enabled U.S. residents in all 50 U.S. states, Washington D.C. and Puerto Rico to place a Credit Freeze / Credit Lock on their Credit Reports. Prior to such date, State Laws in 39 states made such Identity Theft protection tool available to those residents. Now, the three National Credit Bureaus have gone one step further, instituting a Voluntary Program to make such tool available to all, even in those States where no Credit Freeze laws are effective. Equifax has also followed Transunion’s lead, integrating such tool into its various Credit Monitoring products. Equifax’s new feature is now called Equifax Credit Report Control TM. More…
There have been several Mortgage related Identity Theft cases reported recently. In such cases, criminals stole various sensitive personal information from their victims, such as social security number and driver’s license, in order to qualify for mortgage loans. In one recent case, the Identity thief actually made timely monthly payments on the loan. The victim did not become aware of the situation until he received a refund check for closing costs of a mortgage that he had never requested! You cannot help but wonder: how many similar mortgage related Identity Theft cases remain undiscovered?
Through the end of 2008, it is estimated that as many as $1 Trillion in adjustable rate mortgages (ARM) will adjust for the first time. In October of 2007, it is estimated that More…
A comprehensive action plan to fight Identity Theft comprises of Deterring, Detecting and Defending against Identity Theft. Deterrence is the most important aspect of such action plan as it seeks to stop Identity Theft before it even happens. Some of the most valuable tools for deterring Identity Theft comprise of shredding, protecting personal information, and locking access to your credit report. In order to make sure deterrence measures are effective, you must make sure you have not been exposed to Identity Theft, by detecting Identity Theft when and if it happens. When it comes to detecting Identity Theft, the most valuable tool is Credit Monitoring.More…
Identity Theft is the number one crime, affecting about 9 Million victims annually, and resulting in about $50 Billion in annual losses. The I-Phone is the number one consumer product, estimated to have registered over 500,000 unit sales in its opening weekend launch, and expected by some analysts, such as PiperFaffray, to record as many as 45 Million annual unit sales by 2009.
Identity Theft occurrences increased dramatically following the proliferation of the new technology of the internet, accompanied by Computer Viruses, Malware, Phishing, Skimming and more. The I-Phone is termed as a technological breakthrough, supported by over 200 I-Phone related patent filings. Will such technological breakthrough lead to another explosion to the upside in the number of occurrences of Identity Theft?
If there is a risk of Identity Theft associated with the I-Phone, such risk would stem from More…
The Associated Press recently reported that according to a government report obtained Tuesday July 10, the FBI’s search for terrorists includes searching records about Identity Theft. Such information, along with other information, is being mined, creating “a new database to assess the risk posed by people identified as potential or suspected terrorists.”
It should not be surprising that an integral part of the fight against terrorism should be the scrutiny and investigation of cases of Identity Theft. The second largest terrorist attack in U.S. history, the bombing of Alfred P. Murray Federal building in downtown Oklahoma City in 1995, which resulted in 168 deaths, was committed by Timothy McVeigh. Although at his time of arrest, Timothy McVeigh presented his real name, he had previously used an alias in preparation for committing his crime. He had rented the Van used in the explosion under the name of Robert Kling.
Similarly, it was reported by the BBC and other media that the identities of some of the September 11 World Trade Center bombing More…
The Government Accountability Office, GAO, released on Thursday July 5 a comprehensive 50 page report titled: “Data Breaches are Frequent, but Evidence of Resulting Identity Theft Is Limited; However The Full Extent is Unknown.” Unfortunately, most headlines covering the content of the report gave the wrong impression that Data Breaches do not result in increased risk of Identity Theft. Many such headlines totally ignored the last part of the report title: “…However The Full Extent is Unknown.” Many seem to have forgotten to ask themselves: if a criminal is not interested in using the data acquired through a data breach, then why commit such illegal activity in the first place?
The fact that the GAO itself admitted in the title that “The Full Extent is Unknown,” means that the report is inconclusive. If the report is inconclusive, then More…
In a new informal poll/survey published at www.CreditLock.com , the majority of respondents voted Credit Freeze as the most valuable Identity Theft Protection tool. Such vote of confidence coincides with the July 1 expansion of effective Credit Freeze laws into Montana, New Mexico, Wyoming, Washington D.C. and West Virginia.
Respondents were asked which tool they believed is most valuable in fighting Identity Theft. Credit Freeze was selected by 59% of respondents. Credit Monitoring was selected by 14% of respondents. Fraud Alerts was selected by 14% of respondents. Opt-Out from Pre-Screened Credit offers was selected by 14% of respondents. Although the survey/poll is informal, and its sample size is small, the results emphasize the emergence of Credit Freeze as one of the most important Identity Theft Protection tools. More…
There have been several articles written warning parents about the risk of Identity Theft to their children. Furthermore, some companies have also offered services to protect children against Identity Theft. One such company charges as much as $25 per year for such service, as long as one adult in the same home is a regular annual paying client (paying $110 per year). The service essentially places Fraud Alerts on the client’s credit report, and renews such alerts on behalf of the customer once every 3 months. What many parents may not know is that many children do not even have a Credit Report. Furthermore, Fraud Alerts is a service that any consumer is entitled to place himself for free with the Credit Reporting companies. Even if your child does have a Credit Report, does he/she really need one? More…
Identity Theft protection services continue to evolve in order to provide consumers a higly effective weapon against Identity Theft. Millions of consumers have already signed up for active Credit Monitoring services, giving rise to a new multi-billion dollar industry.
Some critics of Credit Monitoring services have emphazised the fact that although Credit Monitoring services will help consumers detect Identity Theft, such services do not actually help consumers deter Identity Theft. It is true that if a consumer employing Credit Monitoring services ia alerted to unusual activity on his Credit Report, then obviously such activity has already occured.
Recently, Transunion, one of the three national Credit Reporting bureaus, has incorporated a new feature into its Credit Monitoring services that will actually help deter Identity Theft. Transunion, through its TrueCredit services, is offering subscribers to its 3-Bureau Credit Monitoring the ability to Lock and Unlock their Transunion Credit Report online with “just one click”. When you More…
As Identity Theft continues to haunt consumers throughout the world, several Identity Theft Protection companies are offering services to defend against such threat. Choosing the right service or company to defend against Identity Theft is not always an easy task. Consumers should base their decision on five guiding principles: A- Disclosure B- Trust C- Value- D- Variety and E- Effectiveness.
These five guiding principles are emphasized today in light of a recent article by More…
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