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...

This is an article by Justine Rivero, Credit Advisor at CreditKarma.com. It appeared in a January 4, 2012, issue of Business Insider . -David ========================= It’s a $37 billion crime that affects 1 in 25 Americans. Consumers are more susceptible to identity theft and fraud than they realize, and the stakes are sky-high if you don't secure your personal information and financial accounts. Identity theft and fraud costs the average consumer $631 in out-of-pocket expenses as well as an average 33 hours spent to resolve the issue, reports Javelin Strategy & Research. Before thieves sink your bank and credit accounts, take these steps to protect your identity that take just a few minutes to implement yet can ultimately save you significant time and financial loss. [Go to this link for the full article with the tips. -David]