Personal Finance Information

10 Steps to Take if You Are a Victim of Identity Theft

free page hit counter

There have been an estimated 9.9 million victims on America and over 40% of all consumer complaints in the U.S. involve identity theft. About half of the victims do not know how the thief obtained their personal information. The Boston Globe and Newsweek have both covered Identity theft this month telling us how important it is for us to educate ourselves on preventing and protecting ourselves from this type of robbery. Identity theft can happen anytime, anywhere and to anyone, individuals or businesses. Everyone must be educated and aware so it can be avoided. Michael Blanchard, US Postal Inspector says postal money orders and business or certified checks are one way you can be at risk. Most identity theft involves the U.S. Mail which is why the U.S. Postal Inspection Service is a lead agency in investigating Identity Theft. Identity Theft is a criminal offense.

What can I do if I am already a victim of ID theft?

? Contact the fraud departments of the three major credit bureaus, to place a fraud alert on your credit file.

? Close all accounts that have been affected and request copies of fraud-dispute forms and complete and return immediately. Keep copies!

? File a police report in each jurisdiction the theft occurred

? Send copies of the report to your creditors or anyone that requires proof of the crime

? File a complaint with the FTC (800-IDTHEFT or www.consumer.gov/idtheft) and Post Office

? Contact the Identity Theft Resource center at 858-693-7935 or www.idtheftcenter.org

? Request a new driver's license from the state of motor vehicles and have a fraud report attached to your driving record.

? Notify check-verification firms about any fraudulent checks:

International check service 800-526-5380
Telecheck 800-927-0755
Certegy Check Services 800-437-5120

? Call 1-888-CALL-FCC and file a complaint.

? Change your passwords and PIN immediately.

Michelle Dunn has over 17 years experience in credit and debt collection. She is the founder of Never Dunn Publishing, LLC, is a writer, consultant and the Editorial Advisor for Eli Financial Debt Collection Compliance Alert Newsletter. Michelle started M.A.D. Collection Agency and ran is successfully for 7 years. She owns and runs Credit & Collections.com a free online community for credit and business professionals.

She has written 5 books in her Collecting Money Series and is currently writing a book for the Streetwise Series, part of the Adams Media Corporation. For more information on Michelle's services or to order any of her books please email her at michelle@michelledunn.com or visit http://www.michelledunn.com & http://www.credit-and-collections.com


MORE RESOURCES:

Yodlee(R) Announces Availability of Over 11000 Financial Data Sources
MarketWatch - 8 hours ago
The Yodlee Data Engine powers Yodlee's most recent innovations, including Yodlee PersonalFinance(TM), (the industry leading personal finance management ...


New Zealand Herald

Business writer David Chaplin blogs on personal finance
New Zealand Herald, New Zealand - 18 hours ago
I was at a conference last week where a woman stood up and blamed the press for creating the global financial crisis (or "the GFC" as insiders now refer to ...


Personal finance: Adding insult to injury, here come capital gains
Fort Worth Star Telegram, TX - Nov 15, 2008
AP Mutual-fund investors reeling from losses in the stock market may face another hit next month: capital gains tax liabilities on their sinking funds. ...


Personal Finance Roundup
The Consumerist, NY - Nov 17, 2008
By freemoneyfinance , 4:22 PM on Mon Nov 17 2008, 18 views 4 Common Resume Blunders [Yahoo Hotjobs] "Keep yourself in the running by avoiding these resume ...


Wesabe and Telegraph Media Group Partner to Provide UK Readers ...
MarketWatch - Nov 11, 2008
SAN FRANCISCO and LONDON, Nov 11, 2008 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Social personal finance website Wesabe and Telegraph Media Group, publisher of the UK's ...


Personal Finance: Payroll deduction is convenient way to get coverage
The Daily Advertiser, LA - Nov 17, 2008
A reflection of the changing economy of the last decade can be found in the changing attitudes many people have toward life insurance. ...


Personal Finance: The importance of savings
Business Mirror, Philippines - Nov 16, 2008
The global financial crisis has hit hard consumers in many countries. In the US, retail sales fell for a fourth-straight month in October, ...


Tesco Personal Finance could provide broker ranges
Mortgage Strategy, UK - Nov 17, 2008
Tesco Personal Finance is yet to decide whether it will include broker facing product ranges in its recently announced mortgage offering. ...


PersonalFinance: Putting target-date retirement funds to work
Reuters - Nov 12, 2008
(Linda Stern is a freelance writer. Any opinions in the column are solely those of Ms. Stern. You can e-mail her at lindastern(at)aol.com. ...


Americans Optimistic About Personal Finance and Pessimistic About ...
MarketWatch - Nov 11, 2008
COLUMBUS, OH, Nov 11, 2008 (MARKET WIRE via COMTEX) -- 48.5% of Americans predict the nation is on the verge of experiencing another great depression, ...

Personal-Finance - Google News

home | site map | Privacy Policy
© 2006