How to Respond After Identity Theft Occurs
How to Respond After Identity Theft Occurs
By Gary E. Cain Author www.dollarsforever.com
Identity theft has become one of the most frequently reported
crimes. But, maybe you are asking yourself: What is identity
theft? I am glad you asked.
Identity theft is the wrongful use of your name, birth date,
social security number as well as financial records and banking
information.
An identity thief obtains this information by going through your
trash, or by pretending to be a bank officer, or government
official, or by creating a false web site that looks similar to
your on-line banking web site, your on-line auction web site
(ebay, for example), or your on-line shopping web site (yahoo
shopping, for instance).
This personal information is used to secure credit cards, bank
loans, or to make furniture, and/or electronic goods purchases
in YOUR name.
However, when identity theft occurs, you have certain rights
under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). In order to
effectively respond to suspected identity theft you should or
can:
(1) Place a fraud alert in one of the three consumer reporting
agencies and that agency will notify the other two consumer
reporting agencies regarding your fraud alert.
The agencies are :