October 11, 2008
Save Your Identity
The warning signs can start innocently enough that you don’t even
recognize them as being warning signs of impending doom. Perhaps it’s
a letter from your credit card company about a credit application. It
might be a call from your bank inquiring about your application for a
line of credit. Do not be fooled into thinking these are innocent
mistakes. Large financial companies do not make innocent mistakes
anymore when it comes to your credit.
As soon as these things start occurring, recognize them for what
they might very well be telling you. You have been the victim of
identity theft and the thief is attempting to purchase goods and
services, running up large bills and debts only to leave you to pay
the cost of the party.
Identity theft is unfortunately all too common, being listed as the
# 1 consumer complaint with the Federal Trade Commission. Nearly
seven million people were victimized in 2003, representing an 80%
increase over the previous year. Even worse, only a small portion of
the thieves are ever prosecuted, even when the police are certain
they know who the thief is. The reason for that is because most cases
require that a witness see the suspect filling out a credit
application or signing to receive goods in the victims’ name.
What can you do when the first signs of identity theft start
trickling into your mail box or answering machine? Here are 5 actions
you can do in an attempt to minimize the impact the theft will leave
on your own good name.
Step 1: Damage Control.
You have to start doing Damage Control at the very first sign that
you might have been the victim of identity theft. As soon as you
receive notice about credit applications you know you have not
inquired about, notify the local police and file a report that you
believe your identity has been stolen. If your purse was lost or
stolen, you should have done this immediately. Get that report on
file because it is important to have documentation if there is to be
even a small chance your impersonator will be prosecuted.
After the police report, you need to contact the three major credit
reporting agencies (CRAs) and the Federal Trade Commission. The box
below gives you the necessary information.
Federal Trade Commission
(877) ID-THEFT
TransUnion – Fraud Victim Assistance
POB 6970
Fullerton, CA 92834
(800)-680-7289
www.transunion.com
Equifax – Consumer Fraud Division
POB 740256
Atlanta, GA 30374
(800) 525-6285
www.equifax.com
Experian – Consumer Assistance
POB 2002
Allen, TX 75013
(888) 397-3742
www.experian.com
By contacting them about the false credit applications being made in
your name, you will activate fraud alerts on your credit file. This
is supposed to prompt lenders to inform you of any new requests for
credit, giving you a chance to explain it was an identity thief, not
you. Sometimes this works. Sometimes it does not and the credit
company goes ahead and gives the thief credit in your name.
You should check your credit reports from each of the three bureaus
to look for items that are not of your doing. Even if there is no
fraud evident, you will want to be watching your report at least
every other month for the next six months. If you see signs of
unusual activity, or the fraud alerts work and you begin to receive
calls from lenders, contact the lenders and credit extenders and
explain it wasn’t you. If the impersonator visited them in person,
ask them for a description. Then move onto:
Step 2: Understand that Reality Bites.
After you receive the second notice of someone seeking credit in
your name, or see any unusual activity on your report you need to:
A. Re-contact the police about this theft
B. Call the CRAs again to renew your fraud alerts which can expire
in 90 days.
C. Request copies of your report from each of the CRAs. A fraud
alert is supposed to notify all three to send you a report without
cost, but make three separate requests to make sure you quickly
receive each CRA report. If need be, hound them until they hand over
what by law they are required to provide you because of your fraud
alert.
Step 3: Get Busy.
Statistically, recovering from identity theft can take more than 600
hours of effort on your part to clear your name. Much of that time
will likely be spent in that never-never land of a company’s
telephone-hold pattern listening to their music selection. Another
big chunk of time will be spent explaining and correcting, re-
explaining and re-correcting and maybe needing to go over for a third
time matters you had though corrected or already explained.
For every action you take, you must keep a precise log of action,
the details are highly important. Just as it was important for you to
notify the police immediately upon recognizing you were facing
identity theft, you must deal with all the companies that think you
owe them money as soon as you are aware of them.
Using a spreadsheet chart with headings like “Company”, “Date”,
“Representative”, “Time Spent”, and “Response” will help you keep
track of whom you talk to, about what and when you spoke. Good record
keeping is vital. Whenever you write, send the letter certified mail,
and staple the confirmation receipt with your other records.
Another advantage of the certified letter is the time stamp. Credit
reporting agencies are required to respond within 30 days – it’s the
law. That time stamp on the envelope, and the fact the CRA signed for
the letter improves your chance of a quick response. You need to take
as much control of the situation as possible.
One important part of this step is to take care of yourself, do a
weekend getaway once in a while if you want. The thing is to
recognize that a sense of helplessness and loss of control is common
when going through an identity theft situation. Deal with the
feelings when they occur, take a break from the ordinary routine as
needed, try to relax on occasion and not let the situation run away
with you.
Creditors are likely to start hounding you, demanding payment for
goods you never bought. Your assertive actions, such as placing the
fraud alerts with the CRAs, reporting to the police, and keeping
track of all contacts with creditors will help you clear your name.
It will also help you prove to the creditors that you do not owe them
the money your impersonator stole from them.
Step 4: Fix what’s broken.
Be diligent in your activity. Do not let the blockheadedness of
credit company representatives get you down; the burden of proof is
on you to show that you did not order those goods. Keep calling,
emailing, and sending certified letters repeatedly until you get all
the false information removed from your credit report.
If this happens to you, always identify yourself as a victim of
identity theft and supply the company with a notarized ID Theft
Affidavit available at www.ftc.gov. Becoming a criminal reporter will
help as you piece together what the thief has done by asking as many
questions as you can.
Step 5: Recovery.
Does anyone truly recover from an ID theft experience?
Looking at your credit report from the three bureaus at least once a
year is important for everybody to do. For a victim of ID theft, it
is imperative. Starting December 1, a nationwide system of fraud
detection and alerts will create procedural standards CRAs must
follow when a consumer reports an incident of identity theft. By
September 2005 everyone will be able to request a free credit report
once a year.
In the event that you are ever the victim of identity theft, by
being proactive you may be able to shorten the duration of your
recovery. If you are fortunate enough to live in California or Texas,
state law allows identity theft victims to freeze their credit
reports. This means a bank or creditor has to request permission via
a PIN number from you.
Credit report attorneys warn against failing to stay vigilant,
though. The danger is that negative data can return to your credit
report, so do not assume that once fixed, the problem will stay fixed
for good. Keep checking your credit reports at least once a year just
to make the past problems do not return to haunt you in the future.
Fighting to clear your name takes time, effort, and expense on your
part. The good news, though, is that you can get all the fraudulent
accounts closed, the black marks removed from your credit report, and
resume some semblance of normalcy in your life. There is no
guarantee that these actions will work, that depends on your
persistence and good fortune. However, not taking these steps will
guarantee you many years of misery, excessive interest rates, denied
credit and mental anguish.
Roger Sorensen
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