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 is no doubt that Identity Theft is scary. Just imagine, a criminal can steal your identity, open new loan and credit accounts in your name, clean out your savings, ruin your credit history, and leave you seriously in debt, owing banks and credit card companies tens of thousands of dollars. This sounds like a nightmare, except that it is real, and it has happened to many. It is estimated that there are anywhere between 7 Million and 15 Million Identity Theft victims annually.
Wouldn’t it make sense if banks and credit card companies were required to contact you at a secure telephone number prior to issuing any new loans or credit cards in your name? Absolutely!!! That way, you can be assured that no loans are approved in your name without your own approval. There are some companies out there that are offering Identity Theft protection tools that essentially revolve around such idea, and are charging around $100 per year for such service. Guess what, this idea is nothing new, and it is known as Fraud Alerts. It has been mandated as your right under the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003, and best of all, Fraud Alerts is free! More…
According to several studies and surveys, anywhere between 7 Million and 15 Million American residents fall victim to Identity Theft annually. Such annual figures represent anywhere between 2.3% and 5% of the total population of the United States. Such large annual percentages imply that over a span of 40 years, or during one’s lifetime, it is almost a certainty that one would fall a victim of Identity Theft. Given such risk, and the disruptive and detrimental effects of becoming an Identity Theft victim, it is no wonder that 39 States, and the District of Columbia, have all passed Credit Freeze / Credit Lock laws 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…
Despite substantial efforts to reduce Identity Theft, headlines continue to indicate that no major breakthrough has been achieved. Depending on the source, it is estimated that as many as 9 Million to 15 Million victims are affected annually. Such lack of progress is illustrated in the recent headline, “Identity Theft is increasing in Illinois, Montana, North Dakota” (link available at end of this article), Teya Jacobs, Associated Content, August 1, 2007. Given such lack of progress, those concerned about Identity Theft must be wondering: “are current Identity Theft Protection measures inadequate? ”
It is important to note that if Identity Theft Protection measures are not implemented, it is virtually impossible to test their effectiveness. It is also important to distinguish between preventive measures and detection measures. One of the most valuable preventive measures is the ability to lock down access to your Credit Report by placing a Credit Freeze. Many states have passed such Credit Freeze laws, including Illinois, Montana and North Dakota. Unfortunately, such states waited too long to pass such laws. Credit Freeze laws became effective in North Dakota and Montana on July 1, 2007. As for Illinois, such laws became effective on January 1, 2007. It is not possible to test the effectiveness of such newly enacted laws until additional time has elapsed.
In addition, residents need to take advantage of Credit Freeze laws in order to reduce Identity Theft. The Boston Globe reported on May 22, 2007 that according to Consumer Data Industry Association, only 50,000 people had ordered Credit Freezes ( “Group Says ID Theft Victims Seldom Freeze Credit Reports”, Ross Kerber - link available at end of this article). At that time, that represented only 0.03% of the population where such laws were effective, or 3 people for every 10,000 residents. Despite such low penetration rate, there is no question that the ability to lock down access to your credit report holds the key to Identity Theft Protection for the following reasons: More…
Under the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003 (FACTA), passed by the U.S. Congress on December 4, 2003 (link available at end of article), consumers were granted the ability to place Fraud Alerts on their credit files. Such Fraud Alerts are an important tool in fighting Identity Theft.
Unfortunately, there have been some common misperceptions about such Fraud Alerts. We examined FACTA’s Title 1, “Identity Theft Prevention and Credit History Restoration”, sections 112 to 115, in order to clarify three common misperceptions: A- whether or not the Act requires that consumers with Fraud Alerts on their file to be contacted prior to issuance of new credit, or extension of existing credit B- how consumers can place Fraud Alerts and whether they need to pay for Fraud Alerts C- whether or not Fraud Alerts prevent the issuance of new credit, or extension of existing credit.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…
Identity Theft, resulting in about 9 Million victims annually, has become America’s number one crime. As consumers expressed their concerns, most States introduced Credit Freeze laws allowing consumers to lock down access to their Credit Report. Although such laws are now available to more than 67% of the total U.S. population, they still lag in the Deep South.
In the Deep South region, consisting of South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia and Louisiana, only Florida and Louisiana have effective Credit Freeze laws available to both Identity Theft victims, as well as non-victims. Alabama, Georgia and South Carolina, with a total population of 18.2 Million residents (consisting of 6% of the total U.S. population) still have no Credit Freeze laws. Meanwhile, Mississippi has only recently made such law effective, but only available to Identity Theft victims. 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…
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