If you’ve lost personal information or identification,
or if it has been stolen from you, you can minimize
the potential for identity theft if you act quickly.
www.consumer.gov/idtheft

• Financial accounts: Close accounts, like
credit card and bank accounts, immediately.
When you open new accounts, place passwords
on them. Avoid using your mother’s maiden
name, your birth date, the last four
digits of your SSN or your phone
number, or a series of consecutive numbers.
• Social Security number: Call the toll-free
fraud number of any of the three nationwide
consumer reporting companies and place
an initial fraud alert on your credit reports.
An alert can help stop someone
from opening new credit accounts in
your name.
• Driver’s license/other government-issued
identification: Contact the agency that issued
the license or other identification document.
Follow its procedures to cancel the document
and to get a replacement. Ask the agency to
flag your file so that no one else can get a
license or any other identification document
from them in your name.

Once you have taken these precautions, watch
for signs that your information is being misused,
and that your identity has been stolen.

If your information has been misused, file
a report about the theft with the police, and file
a complaint with the FTC, as well. If another
crime was committed – for example, if your purse or
wallet was stolen or your house or car was broken
into – report it to the police immediately.

Tags: Credit Card safety, credit report, ID theft, Identity Theft, stolen credit cards

An amendment to the federal Fair Credit
Reporting Act requires each of the major
nationwide consumer reporting companies
to provide you with a free copy of your credit
report, at your request, once every 12 months.

Free reports have been phased in during a
nine-month period, starting with states in
the West and ending with states in the East.
Beginning September 1, 2005, free reports will
be accessible to all Americans, regardless of
where they live.

To order your free annual report from one or
all the national consumer reporting companies,
visit: www.annualcreditreport.com; call toll-free:
877-322-8228; or complete the Annual Credit
Report Request Form and mail it to: Annual
Credit Report Request Service, P.O. Box 105281,
Atlanta, GA 30348-5281.

You can print the form
from ftc.gov/credit. Do not contact the three
nationwide consumer reporting companies
individually; they provide free annual credit
reports only through www.annualcreditreport.com,
877-322-8228, and Annual Credit Report
Request Service, P.O. Box 105281, Atlanta, GA 30348-5281.
OTHER RIGHTS TO FREE REPORTS
Under federal law, you’re also entitled to a free
report if a company takes adverse action against
you, such as denying your application for credit,
insurance or employment, and you request your
report within 60 days of receiving notice of the action.
The notice will give you the name, address and
phone number of the consumer reporting company
that supplied the information about you. You’re
also entitled to one free report a year if your
unemployed and plan to look for a job within 60
days; if you’re on welfare; or if your report is
inaccurate because of fraud.

Otherwise, a consumer reporting company
may charge you up to $10.50 for additional
copies of your report.

To buy a copy of your report, Contact:

Equifax:
800-685-1111
www.equifax.com

Experian:
888-EXPERIAN
( 888-397-3742)
www.experian.com

TransUnion:
800-916-8800
www.transunion.com

Under state law, Consumers in
Co, Ga, Me, Md, Ma, NJ, and VT
already have free access to their credit reports.

If you ask, only the last four digits of your
Social Security number will appear on your
credit reports.

Tags: credit report, ID theft, Identity Theft

If an identity thief is opening new credit accounts
in your name, these accounts are likely to show
up on your credit report.

You can find out by ordering a copy of your credit
report from the three nationwide consumer
reporting companies.

If you have lost any personal information – or
if it has been stolen – you may want to check all
your reports more frequently for the first year.

Monitor the balances of your financial accounts.
Look for unexplained charges or withdrawals.

Other indications of identity theft can be:

• failing to receive bills or other mail. This
could mean an identity thief has submitted
a change of address.
• receiving credit cards for which you did
not apply.
• denial of credit for no apparent reason.
• receiving calls from debt collectors or
companies about merchandise or services
you didn’t buy.

Tags: Credit Card safety, ID theft, Identity Theft, stolen credit cards

Skilled identity thieves use a variety of ways to gain access to your personal information.
For example, they may get information from businesses or other institutions by stealing
it while they’re on the job; bribing an employee who has access to these records; hacking these
records; and conning information out of employees.

Or:

• they may steal your wallet or purse.
• they may steal your personal information through email or the phone by saying
they’re from a legitimate company and claiming that you have a problem with your
account. This practice is known as “phishing” online, or “pretexting” by phone.
• they may steal your credit or debit card numbers by capturing the information in
a data storage device in a practice known as “skimming.” They may swipe your card
for an actual purchase, or attach a device to an ATM machine where they may enter
or swipe your card.
• they may get your credit reports by abusing the authorized access that was granted to
their employer, or by posing as a landlord, employer, or someone else who may have
a legal right to your report.
• they may rummage through your trash, the trash of businesses, or public trash dumps in
a practice known as “dumpster diving.”
• they may steal personal information they find in your home.
• they may steal your mail, including bank and credit card statements,
credit card offers, new checks, and tax information.
• they may complete a “change of address form” to divert your
mail to another location.

Once identity thieves have your personal information, they may use it to commit fraud
or theft.

For example:

• they may call your credit card issuer to change the billing address on your account.
The impostor then runs up charges on your account. Because the bills are being sent
to a different address, it may be some time before you realize there’s a problem.
• they may open new credit card accounts in your name. When they use the credit cards
and don’t pay the bills, the delinquent accounts are reported on your credit report.
• they may establish phone or wireless service in your name.
• they may open a bank account in your name and write bad checks on the account.
• they may counterfeit checks or credit or debit cards, or authorize electronic transfers
in your name, and drain your bank account.
• they may file for bankruptcy under your name to avoid paying debts they’ve incurred
under your name, or to avoid eviction.
• they may buy a car by taking out an auto loan in your name.
• they may get identification such as a driver’s license issued with their picture, in your name.
• they may get a job or file fraudulent tax returns in your name.
• they may give your name to the police during an arrest. If they don’t show up
for the court date, a warrant for arrest is issued in your name.

Please use common sense with your credit cards, credit card bills, and other personal
identity information.

As you can see from the above article, Identity Theft is something to take into serious consideration.

Tags: Credit Card safety, credit cards, ID theft, Identity Theft, personal security, stolen credit cards

In the course of a busy day, especially this time of the year, you may write a check at the grocery store, charge Bowl Game tickets, rent a car, mail your tax returns, change service providers for your cell phone, or apply for a credit card. In each transaction, you reveal bits of personal information, like your bank and credit card account numbers; your income, your social security number (SSN) or your name, address and phone numbers - a goldmine of information for an identity thief. Once a thief has that information, it can be used without your knowledge to commit fraud or theft.

Identity theft is a serious crime. People whose identities have been stolen can spend lots of time and money cleaning up the mess thieves have made of their good name and credit record. They may lose out on job opportunities, and loans for education, housing, or cars. The may even get arrested for crimes they did not commit.

Can you prevent an identity theft? As with any crime, you cannot completely control whether you will become a victim. But according to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the nation’s consumer protection agency, you can minimize your risk by managing your personal information cautiously.

If someone has used your name or other personal information to commit a fraud, please visit http://www.consumer.gov/idtheft for information on how to proceed and how to file an identity theft complaint. The site has links to useful information from other federal agencies, states, and consumer organizations. The information in your complaint becomes part of a secure database that law enforcement officials across the nation use to help stop identity thieves.

If you know someone that needs this information and they do not  have access to the internet, they may call 1877-ID-THEFT, the FTC’s toll-free ID Theft Hotline.

Tags: Credit Card safety, credit cards, crime, FTC, ID theft, Identity Theft, stolen credit cards

Greeting,

In this world of convenience, one of the most used is an ATM machine.
They simply have been incorporated into our lives. They are great to grab
some quick cash while on the run, but still, depending on the location and
time of the day, especially evening, still pose a bit of risk.

For personal safety and security sake, let’s do a little planning ahead so we
use them safely, with no injuries.

As always and as we have spoke about in other posts, be aware of your
surroundings. Just because a ATM machine is open 24/7 doesn’t mean it
is always safe to use it.

* Did you know most ATM robberies occur at night between 8:00pm &
midnight?

* ATM robbers are usually males under 25 years of age.

* ATM robbers usually position themselves nearby waiting for a victim to
approach and withdraw cash.

* Most ATM robbery victims are women and were alone when robbed.

Most victims claim that they never saw the robber coming. ATM robbers
use a gun or claim to have a concealed weapon when confronting their
victim and make demands for their cash.

Your personal safety and security is at stake when using an ATM machine,
here are a couple of tips to make the transaction a little safer.

* Use only ATM Machines in well-lighted, high traffic areas.

* Don’t use ATM machines that are in remote areas or hidden in such away
like behind buildings, behind pillars, walls or away from public view. Beware
of obvious hiding places like shrubbery or overgrown trees.
Robbers like to have the element of surprise and no witnesses.

* If the lights around the ATM machine is not working, stay away, find another
machine.

* as stated earlier, avoid ATM machines next to obvious hiding places.

* Have your card ready and leave quickly, don’t count your cash in public.

* Beware of offers for help from strangers during an ATM transaction.

* Don’t fight with or attempt to follow the robber.

* Drive or walk to a safe place and immediately call the police!

Above all, it pays to know your surroundings and a little planning ahead can
make your night out more enjoyable.

Please remember, the above article are just tips to help keep you safer and make
you more aware of your surrounding.

Join us tomorrow for part 2.

Sincerely,

Trapper

PS…over 40 reports on personal safety and security can be found at
www.personalsafetyebook.com/PPP.html including a
FREE report on ID Theft

Tags: atm machines, campus security, crime, ID theft, personal safety, personal security, robbery