Identity Theft Awareness

Did you know that you can get a free credit report every 12 months from each of the credit bureaus? (Equifax, Experian, and Trans Union.)  You can request the report by going to annualcreditreport.com.  Just be careful, because the bureaus will try to steer you into monthly monitoring or other costly services you may or may not want to have. I'd recommend that you stagger these reports every four months so that in a year you have one from every bureau (ex: get Equifax in Jan, Experian in April or May, Trans Union in Aug or Sept). Why is this important, you might ask?  Things happen to our credit in the course of a year that might not be accurate, or may indicated a potential identity theft in progress.  Even if you have monitoring enabled, a monitor may not be able to pick out what is legitimate and what is bogus.  And it is possible, even likely, that things reported to Experian may not show up on Trans Union's report, depending upon the reporting agency...

Can you be arrested for stealing your own identity?  That's what happened to  Stephen Tendell  of Denver, CO.  He reported his identity as stolen, his mother found the culprit, and police arrested the thief.  But they booked him under Stephen's name.  When the thief didn't show up for the trial -- duh -- the police arrested Stephen!  What a nightmare, according to Stephen's mother, that is still going on. A little advertisement is in order here: if Stephen had owned a LegalShield combo ID Theft and Legal Plan , our investigators would have cleared up the on-going ID theft record snafus, and the Colorado provider law firm would have helped him get the criminal charges rectified.  For a mere $26.95/mo, his nightmare could have been avoided or at least minimized. Click HERE for the article, along with another example of mistaken identity in Denver.

Card Skimmer Found On Atlanta ATM Have you heard of a credit card skimmer? Know what one looks like? These devices are usually modifications to standard ATM machines that siphons off credit card information when a person inserts a credit card. You can find an article and pictures of one found on an Atlanta ATM recently at THIS website. Falsely accused, ID theft victim carted off to jail An Indiana man was arrested for beating his girlfriend's son. The only problem is, it was the wrong man! Read about it HERE . Louisville man is victim of unusual identity theft This is a nightmare that is real: Michael Anderson of Louisville, KY, is having a hard time keeping his personal records clean, but not because he is doing anything wrong. Another Michael Anderson with the same birthday has an extensive criminal record, including indecent behavior with a juvenile and assault. What happens whenever the Louisville Anderson tries to get a job or applies for credit? Read about it and wa...