Defend Against Identity Theft – Advice From The FTC

July 27, 2010 · Posted in Identity Theft

In the course of a busy day, you may write a check at the grocery store, charge tickets to a ball game, rent a car, mail your tax returns, change service providers for your cell phone, or apply for a credit card. Chances are you don’t give these everyday transactions a second thought. But an identity thief does. Identity theft is a serious crime. People whose identities have been stolen can spend months or years and thousands of dollars cleaning up the mess the thieves have made of a good name and credit record. In the meantime, victims of identity theft may lose job opportunities, be refused loans for education, housing, or cars, and even get arrested for crimes they didn’t commit. Humiliation, anger, and frustration are among the feelings victims experience as they navigate the process of rescuing their identity. Working with other government agencies and organizations, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has produced this booklet to help you remedy the effects of an identity theft. It describes what steps to take, your legal rights, how to handle specific problems you may encounter on the way to clearing your name, and what to watch for in the future.

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Tags: credit report, fraud, ftc, Identity Theft

Comments

Chuck July 27, 2010 at 9:35 pm

The sad thing is that it can take years and thousands of dollars for a victim to repair their credit and their good name, but the ID thief can move on to the next victim very easily.

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Jesse July 27, 2010 at 9:46 pm

One of the reasons Identity Theft is so easy is due to the fact that our information is already on public records available to any John or Jane Doe. We are also using old age technology in today’s new technology times. Such as currently having regular written numbers on credit cards and other important documents. What we should be using instead something like Bar Codes. As it would make it much harder for ID thief’s getting a hold of our Account Numbers and our Social Security Numbers.

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Luis July 27, 2010 at 9:55 pm

Here are some of the recommended steps for you to take in order to protect yourself!

Order your free copy of your credit report. Everyone is entitled to a free annual credit report from the national credit reporting agencies Equifax, Experian and Transunion. Or you can also order a credit monitoring service.

Place fraud alerts on your credit reports. Because if your purse or wallet is ever stolen if you have that fraud alert in your credit report it will make it impossible for someone to open accounts in your name. When you try to obtain credit in your name, they will call you to confirm if it was you who is trying to obtain credit. And you can place those fraud alerts for free!! They last for 90 days. But you can place those fraud alerts again for another 90 days and for free!!

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Lance July 27, 2010 at 10:07 pm

If your social security number is stolen then you are in big trouble because that number is the magic key to everything. So that’s why you should never carry your social security card or number unless necessary because that number can be very easily recognized by id thieves. Always leave it at home in a secure and safe place. Also, don’t share any personal info with anybody on the internet or phone unless you initiated the contact and know who are you dealing with.

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web design development company July 29, 2010 at 1:29 am

Your information is highly appreciable and i wish you will always spread us such useful information from your every post .

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Fred from Credit Card Debt September 24, 2010 at 2:29 am

Identity theft has become a grave issue in the present era of technology and it is a high time to find out the remedies for it.

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k2 Incense Smoke February 22, 2011 at 12:42 pm

Thank You for this blog, i will forward it around the office

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