What are the steps I should take if I'm a victim of identity theft?

If you are a victim of identity theft, take the following steps as soon as possible, and records with the details of your conversations and copies of all correspondence.

1. Place a fraud alert on your credit reports, and review your credit reports.

Fraud alerts can help prevent an identity thief from opening any more accounts in your name. Contact the toll-free fraud number of any of the three consumer reporting companies below to place a fraud alert on your credit report. You only need to contact one of the three companies to place an alert. The company you call is required to contact the other two, which will place an alert on their versions of your report, too. If you do not receive a confirmation from a company, you should contact that company directly to place a fraud alert.

Continue to check your credit reports periodically, especially for the first year after you discover the identity theft, to make sure no new fraudulent activity has occurred.

2. File a report with your local police or the police in the community where the identity theft took place.

What is a fraud alert?
There are two types of fraud alerts: an initial alert, and an extended alert.

• An initial fraud alert stays on your credit report for at least 90 days. You may ask that an initial fraud alert be placed on your credit report if you suspect you have been, or are about to be, a victim of identity theft. An initial alert is appropriate if your wallet has been stolen or if you've been taken in by a "phasing" scam. With an initial fraud alert, potential creditors must use what the law refers to as “reasonable policies and procedures” to verify your identity before issuing credit in your name.  However, the steps potential creditors take to verify your identity may not always alert them that the applicant is not you.  When you place an initial fraud alert on your credit report, you're entitled to order one free credit report from each of the three nationwide consumer reporting companies, and, if you ask, only the last four digits of your Social Security number will appear on your credit reports.

This process makes it harder for anybody else that's not yourself to obtain new credit in your name.

Use your card safely

Visa cards are a safe way to manage your spending.

Some simple precautions will help to ensure you won’t be inconvenienced.

When you get your card

Sign the signature panel immediately

·         Memorize the Personal Identification Number (PIN) – never write it down

·         If you choose your own PIN or change the one you were given, avoid obvious choices such as your date of birth

·         Do not tell anybody your PIN

At home

·         Keep your sales slips and ATM receipts – check them against your card or bank statement

·         If any amount is incorrect or you spot a transaction you do not remember, call your card issuer immediately

·         Keep a list of your card numbers, along with the telephone numbers you should call if they are lost or stolen

Fraud: There is no single definition of fraud, but some types of credit fraud that occur include:

·         Identity theft: the unauthorized use of personal identification information to commit fraud or other crimes

·         Identity assumption: long-term victimization of identification information

·         Fraud spree: unauthorized charges on existing accounts

·         Discovering fraud
There are several warning signs that credit fraud may be occurring:

o        Your credit report contains inquiries or information about accounts that you did not open

o        Strange charges show up on billing statements

o        Bills arrive from unknown or unfamiliar sources

o        You receive calls from creditors or collection agencies

More Helpful Suggestions for victims:

If you believe you are a victim of fraud you may find the following suggestions helpful:

o        Protect yourself: A 90-day security alert gives you time to verify if you are a victim of fraud. If you determine you are a fraud victim, you may add a 7-year victim statement to your credit report.

o        Inform creditors: Contact each creditor with the fraud account and inform them that the account is fraudulent.

o        Document all contacts: Make notes of everyone you speak with: ask for names, department names, phone extensions and record the date you speak with them.

o        Understand the process: Each creditor may have a different process for handling a fraud claim. Make sure you understand exactly what is expected from you, and then ask what you can expect from the creditor. At the conclusion of an investigation, ask the creditor for a document that states you are not responsible for the debt.

o        Follow up: Make sure everything a creditor/credit reporting agency has requested is received. It is always a good idea to place a follow-up call or send a letter for confirmation.

o        Review reports regularly: Obtain another report several months after you believe everything is cleared up. If a new fraudulent account is discovered, you know how to handle it. If your credit report is back to normal, you can feel confident that all issues were resolved as you expected. It would be a good idea to check your credit report again in six months and a year later.

o        Don't throw away files: Keep all notes and correspondence in an accessible file in case they are needed in the future.

o        If you feel you have enough information pertaining to the fraudulent activity, then it would be recommended that you file a formal police report. A police report can help protect you if you need to pursue legal action in the future. Consult your local police dept for more information.




Score Explanation:
Scores are calculated from a lot of different credit data in your credit report. This data can be grouped into five categories as outlined...

o        Payment History

§         Account payment information on specific types of accounts (credit cards, retail accounts, installment loans, finance company accounts, mortgage, etc.)

§         Presence of adverse public records (bankruptcy, judgments, suits, liens, wage attachments, etc.), collection items, and/or delinquency (past due items)

§         Severity of delinquency (how long past due)

§         Amount past due on delinquent accounts or collection items

§         Time since (recentness of) past due items (delinquency), adverse public records (if any), or collection items (if any)

§         Number of past due items on file

§         Number of accounts paid as agreed

Amounts Owed

§         Amount owing on accounts

§         Amount owing on specific types of accounts

§         Lack of a specific type of balance, in some cases

§         Number of accounts with balances

§         Proportion of credit lines used (proportion of balances to total credit limits on certain types of revolving accounts)

§         Proportion of installment loan amounts still owing (proportion of balance to original loan amount on certain types of installment loans)

Length of Credit History

§         Time since accounts opened

§         Time since accounts opened, by specific type of account

§         Time since account activity

Types of Credit Used

New Credit

§         Number of recently opened accounts, and proportion of accounts that are recently opened, by type of account

§         Number of recent credit inquiries

§         Time since recent account opening(s), by type of account

§         Time since credit inquiry(s)

§         Re-establishment of positive credit history following past payment problems

§         Number of (presence, prevalence, and recent information on) various types of accounts (credit cards, retail accounts, installment loans, mortgage, consumer finance accounts, etc.)

Please note that:

§         A score takes into consideration all these categories of information, not just one or two.
No one piece of information or factor alone will determine your score.

§         The importance of any factor depends on the overall information in your credit report.
For some people, a given factor may be more important than for someone else with a different credit history. In addition, as the information in your credit report changes, so does the importance of any factor in determining your score. Thus, it's impossible to say exactly how important any single factor is in determining your score - even the levels of importance shown here are for the general population, and will be different for different credit profiles. What's important is the mix of information, which varies from person to person, and for any one person over time.

§         Scoring Models only look at information in your credit report.
However, lenders look at many things when making a credit decision, including your income, how long you have worked at your present job and the kind of credit you are requesting.

§         Your score considers both positive and negative information in your credit report.
Late payments will lower your score, but establishing or re-establishing a good track record of making payments on time will raise your score.

Improving Your Score:

How Credit Scoring Helps You:
Credit scores give lenders a fast, objective measurement of your credit risk. Before the use of scoring, the credit granting process could be slow, inconsistent and unfairly biased.

Credit Report Explanation:
The American credit reporting system is the envy of the world. Credit reports and credit scoring have been responsible for creating timely access to consumer credit at less expense to consumers...

(a full and detailed explanation will be given at your free consultation, call us today 610-437-2960 OR @ 1-877-225-9810).

Engaged, Married, Divorced or Separated - (Things you should Know):
Managing your credit can be tricky, even when you're the only person involved in your financial decisions. Add a new spouse to the mix, and you have to be extra careful to ensure your credit remains in good standing.