The FTC recently released a list of top consumer fraud complaints received in 2007 and not surprisingly, identity theft topped the list for the eighth year in a row at 32% of the overall complaints. Consumers reported over $1.2 billion in losses last year, even though there are many ways to fight identity theft. While we can’t be expected to live an exceedingly paranoid existence, we can be smart by monitoring our free Experian credit report.

The first step to fight identity theft is to obtain a online credit report report from Equifax Inc Experian or TransUnion, which are the three major credit bureaus. By law, you are entitled to one free credit report each year from each of the three bureaus at www.annualcreditreport.com.

fight identity theft
On your credit report, you will see who has tried to access your report information. You will also see all new accounts, credit cards, loans and mortgages listed. If something looks suspicious, then don’t hesitate to report identity theft immediately. To get the most accurate report, you should check all three reports from Experian, Equifax and TransUnion.

Some people get their free credit report from Experian, wait four months and get another free report from Equifax, then wait four more months and get their free report from TransUnion. Otherwise, you may have to pay a small fee to access your information later in the year.

If you notice something amiss, then you can get equifax information from your credit bureaus and place a “fraud alert” on your account to report identity theft . With a fraud alert, the credit bureaus will need to contact you before opening any new accounts or changing your existing accounts.

online credit report
Experian Inc also offers a “CreditCheck” program, which alerts you whenever a change takes place on your credit report. Never carry your social security card with you, as that is a gold mine of data for thieves.

To fight identity theft, keep tabs on your FICO score for $9.95/month at www equifax com with their “score watch” program, which will allow you immediate online access to your credit file, as well as alert you to any new requests for information or lines of credit. Additionally, McAfee Internet Security Suite will protect your computer from hackers, so you can shop, bank and email safely.

equifax information
The credit bureaus can put a free 90-day fraud alert on your account if you find suspicious activity. The bureau you report to initially is required by law to notify the other two. Opt out of credit card offers at 1-888-5OPTOUT to prevent theft. Shred all your documents and stay free from identity theft!

Written by: OSAblogger / Bill Wardell - Please Read Our Latest OSA eZine Edition

Other Places You Can Find Me…

Digg - LinkedIn - OSA Community - Facebook - StumbleUpon - MyBlogLog

If you're a concerned parent, you may want to subscribe to the: OSA~RSS while your here, please JOIN our: OSA Forum... also Follow Me On Twitter Thanks for visiting!

OSA Related Posts

• OSA Security News Image via CrunchBase Prying eyes - Rocky Mountain News 16 Oct 2006 at 2:17am Prying eyesRocky Mountain News, CO - 21 hours ago… last four digits of a Social Security number. … with good software to prevent identity theft, and by … Once Wagner allegedly established online accounts of various …......
• Find out how to protect yourself and fix ID theft! There are several ways that identity theft thieves gain access to your personal information. Lost wallets, purses, stolen or lost mail used to be the main source of such private information. Mail, which sometime, includes bank statements, pre-approved credit cards, and tax papers are a source of a large amount of......
• Color me alert to ID theft dangers Imagine if each person had a color-coded system for the threat of identity theft like the country uses for terrorism. It would work like this. You read an ominous story full of statistics on identity theft? Yawn. Green. You read that the state’s printer stuck Social Security numbers on a......
• Deterring Thieves Helps To Preventing Identity Theft If you want to prevent identity theft, then you have to know what types of information your not-so-friendly identity bandit is looking for. He or she wants as much information as possible with as little effort as possible. preventing identity theftSocial security numbers and dates of birth are the number......
• Identity Theft Statistics - What Fact You are Able to Have from Them? If you presume that identity theft statistics can help much in decreasing this crime you are then wrong. In fact, the case is steadily increasing over the last ten years by about 80 percent. It implies that everyday there are identity thefts done in various manners. So, what can you......

OSA Related Websites

• Fair Credit Reporting Act – What It Is and How It Affects You If you’ve ever had a problem with the contents of your credit report, the Fair Credit Reporting Act was your best friend. Have you ever heard of this powerful act passed by Congress in 1970? Just in case you need a refresher course on this topic, let me give you......
• Free 1 Year Experian Credit Monitoring and Report Turbo Tax is currently having a promotion when you purchase Turbo Tax, you will receive a 1-year subscription (free) to Experian credit monitoring and a credit report.  From the Turbo Tax site about the Experian Credit Monitoring: • Monitors your Experian Credit Report on a daily basis • Sends you e-mail......
• Don't forget your "Annual" checkup I am amused at the McDonald's commercials where the guy goes around trying to find out what he can buy for a single dollar. The end result is that he cannot get very much until he makes his way into a McDonald's restaurant. The inconsistency with the commercial is that......
• Things to Have Removed from your Credit Report pt 2 Continued from part 1. 3 - Charge Offs. When you do not pay off a credit card account or a loan account for a period of three to six months, your creditors are generally going to assume that your account is non collectible, or that it is in default. When......
• Credit Report Errors – How to Fix Them Credit report errors can happen to everyone regardless of their credit rating. A person with good credit may find that a family member’s less than stellar information has been inappropriately posted onto their credit report. On the other hand, someone with a bad credit history may find that a negative......