Avoiding ID Theft and Credit Fraud

Article excerpted from the new book, "How to Do Space Age Work with a Stone Age Brain" TM copyright 2004, all rights reserved, by Eve Abbott, the Organizer Extraordinaire

Each year billions of dollars in credit fraud is perpetrated on unsuspecting citizens. With so much personal information publicly available (or easily available to someone with medium computing skills) it is essential to develop good habits to prevent your information from falling into criminal hands. It is possible for someone to create an entire identity (get driver's license, etc.) based on just a few pieces of information.

I know of an employee who sustained an on-the-job injury then applied for disability. He was shocked when they turned him down. According to Workmen's Compensation records he had been collecting disability for the last year and a half. Someone had gotten their hands on enough information to drain his account!

It can take years and thousands of dollars to correct an identity theft, credit fraud or a simple key entry error by a clerk at a Credit Bureau. It takes minutes for you to do these simple tips:

Destroy all pre-approved credit offers you get in the mail before you discard them. Otherwise, someone can fill out a new address and get credit in your name. Use a paper-shredder for all documents with your financial or legal information included. Sign all your credit cards with 'Please ask for photo ID' instead of your signature.

Never give out your SSN or credit card information on the phone unless you initiate the call and you know to whom you are talking. Never carry your social security number in your wallet.

You don't have to give your SSN to businesses that request it, although they do have the right to refuse service. Only government agency, and employment or tax related inquiries must be answered.

Reduce the number of pre-approved offers you get by requesting these credit bureaus remove your name from their lists: TRW (800) 353-0809, Equifax (800) 219-1251 and TransUnion (800) 241-2858.

Once a year carefully check out your free credit report from Experian (800) 682-7654 and free Social Security file (800) 772-1213. If you are denied credit based on your report, the issuing credit bureau must provide you with a free copy upon request - even if they usually charge for it.

If you don't have a 'business of having a life' filing system, check out the cost-effective Home and Small Business File Kits that I use in my own business, which makes it easy for me to guarantee your satisfaction. (www.organize.com)

Do not give out confidential information on e-mail or do financial transactions on the Internet unless it's secure and encoded. (Look for the SSL reference)

Check guarantee and check verification agencies must provide the same protection as credit bureaus, such as access to your report and correction of errors. If your check is refused, get the agency name.

For assistance in re-establishing good credit and correcting errors, the non-profit Consumer Credit Counseling Service may be able to help you. To find the office nearest you call(800) 388-2227.

More free time-saving tips are available at http://www.organize.com

For over 15 years, Eve Abbott has been writing, speaking and consulting with executives, managers and business owners on boosting their effectiveness with organizing tools and techniques to melt the paper blizzard and tackle e-mail overload. Eve is the Organizer Extraordinaire, a personal productivity expert whose wisdom has reached the pages of the New York Times, Working Woman and Home Office Computing.

More Resources

Unable to open RSS Feed $XMLfilename with error HTTP ERROR: 404, exiting

More Credit Information:

Related Articles

Home Loans - Repair Your Credit Before You Buy
Before you take out a home loan or make any major purchase, you should be aware that any prospective lender will want to take a look at your credit report. Your credit report is a record of all of your past financial dealings, and any loans, credit cards, judgements, bankruptcies or other major financial transactions are listed there.
Credit Card Entrapment - The Secrets are Out
Have you ever wondered why your credit card bill is so high and you can't seem to pay off the balance? Well you are not alone in this. You should be aware of a couple of trick that they use and you probably don't even pay attention to it, but you definitely pay for it and BIG!The next time you open up your credit card statement, take a real close look to all the "junk" inside particularly the very hard to read insert Call "changes to you credit card agreement".
How You Can Avoid Becoming A Victim Of Identity Theft
To reduce or minimize the risk of becoming a victim of identity theft or fraud, there are some basic steps you can take.The most important one is to ask periodically for a copy of your credit report.
Trade Credit: How to Determine if You Should Offer Net-30 Terms to Your Customers
What is trade credit?One of the major differences between consumer and commercial transactions is that most, if not all, consumer transactions are paid in cash or by credit card at the time of sale. Because of this, most consumer businesses never have to worry about extending credit to a customer and can run their operations on an "all cash" basis.
Always Avoid Payment Holidays
Once you've been paying off a credit card for a while, you might be offered a 'payment holiday'. You'll get a letter, saying that since the company knows it's difficult for some families around Christmas (or whatever other excuse they think up), they're offering you a month off from paying, as a 'special present'.
Improving Your Credit Report
Even if you think you have a wonderful credit report, be wary of the error factor. Just as you receive mail with your name and address misspelled, your credit report can have errors as well.
Credit Card Disclosure Table - Do You Understand It All?
In addition to the APR (annual percentage rate) and the finance charges, most credit cards have a number of 'fees' associated with their use. Some fees are unavoidable with a particular card (like an annual fee or a program participation fee), while others are triggered by certain circumstances.
Consolidating Credit Cards
Credit card consolidation is a popular solution for those with significant credit card debt, usually distributed on three or four different cards. Basically, this means putting all your debts together on a single card, like transferring it all to one loan.
Choosing a Credit Counseling Company
If you have considered credit counseling as an option to your financial problems, then you are probably wondering how to choose from one of the many credit counseling companies that are popping up left and right these days. There really is not an easy answer to this dilemma but there are some things that you can look for in a credit counseling company that might make the decision a little easier.
Understanding Credit Card Penalties
Because most of us have one or two credit cards and we use them every day, understanding credit card penalties and fees is a significant issue since one time or another we have paid a penalty for some reason. Every user of a credit card must first understand that every charge on the credit card represent a loan which must be repaid.
Credit Reports - Why Your Credit Score is Important
If you have never heard of a FICO score before, you should become familiar with the term. Named for the firm that invented it, Fair Isaac Corp.
Annual Credit Report and Free Annual Credit Report
Getting an annual credit report review has been the advice of many financial managers as they guided their customers to be aware of all information on credit reports. Would the idea of a free annual credit report be good news? Consumers are thrilled with the new federal mandate that demands the three major national credit bureaus offer a free annual credit report to anyone requesting copies of their personal credit reports.
Easing Your Financial Burdens With Credit Counseling
It is a well-publicized fact that more of us are getting ourselves into greater debt, and this may be true for you. The embarrassment of your financial situation can mean you are unlikely to seek credit counselling or other credit management solutions.
Student Credit Cards
STUDENT CREDIT CARDS With graduate debt averaging over £12,000, the ability to spread the cost of further education using a student credit card is obviously attractive. Adding to their appeal is the fact that these cards are relatively easy to obtain.
Dealing With A Collection Agency
Step I - Selecting A Collection AgencySelecting a credit collection agency is perhaps the most important and difficult task. Some factors you must consider while selecting a collection agency are:- Experience and professionals - Geographical presence - Expertise - Fees and charging model - Customer references - Collection Agency Services has covered this topic in depth through various free collections reports and articles on this site.
SuperCharged Secret 4, Credit Card Utopia
YOU SCRATCH MY BACK, AND I'LL BUY SOME MORE BEER!Let's just take a brief moment to recap:If you've been following along on this journey with me, learning the 5 Super-Charged secrets to Credit Card Utopia, then you now know 3 very important things:You now know how to take advantage of zero to low interest credit card offers.You now know that there is safety in numbers, and you know the magic "Who's Who" of the major credit card companies.
Discover the Parts of a Credit Report and What They Mean
So you ordered a copy of your credit report to check for inaccuracies and get the most from your credit score. Now how do you read it? Your credit report is read and used by any number of people you deal with on a daily basis, from your landlord to your employer to a potential lender.
19,178 Identity Theft Victims Per Day - Are You One Of Them?
Identity theft statistics are shocking. And we are told that it will only become worse, before it gets any better.
Understanding Your Credit Score
When you apply for credit one of the first things almost all credit officers do is check your credit score. Although not all of those officers explained to us what a credit score is, we are all rated according to it and the offers we receive were all dependent on that score.
Minimize your Risk for Identity Theft
Identity theft is the fastest growing crime in America. According to the Federal Trade Commission, the number of identity theft incidents reached 9.