Arsenal For War Against Identity Theft Not Big Enough
| by Broderick Perkins DeadlineNews.Com Consumers are getting new weapons in the war against identity theft, a crime that could stop your mortgage request -- and other credit applications -- cold. If you are a victim of identity theft, you don't actually lose your identity and wander aimlessly like a John or Jane Doe. Identify theft or identity fraud is committed by financial thugs who steal your personal identifying information -- Social Security number, date of birth, driver's license number, mother 's maiden name, etc.-- and then use that information to access your existing credit and financial accounts and to open new accounts for fraudulent use. The number of ID fraud victims is unknown because there is no single hotline or database that captures all reports of ID fraud, according to a U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO) report "Identity Theft: Prevalence and Cost Appear to be Growing," released last year. But the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) says ID fraud was it's No. 1 fraud complaint last year, accounting for 43 percent of the complaints lodged with the FTC's Consumer Sentinel. The GAO also says the increase in ID fraud incidents reported to credit agencies ranged from 36 percent to 53 percent over a recent two-year period. The latest addition to the growing arsenal aimed at the scourge is a single phone call -- you need call only one of the three major credit reporting agencies to notify all three that your identity has been stolen or that you suspect it has been stolen or tampered with. The three agencies and their phone numbers are:
• Equifax (888) 766-0008 Within 24 hours of the call to any one agency:
• That credit agency will electronically notify the other two and a "fraud alert" will be placed on your account at each agency. With a documented "fraud alert" placed on your credit reports, creditors are less likely to advance credit to existing accounts or to open new ones -- even for you. The "fraud alert" also lets Consumer Data Industry Association (CDIA) members aware there's a problem, but the service isn't foolproof. Founded in 1906, the CDIA is the international trade association that represents more than 400 consumer data companies, including the nation's leading institutions in credit reporting, mortgage reporting, check verification, fraud prevention, risk management, employment reporting, tenant screening and collection services. But CDIA members and creditors are not mandated to check your credit report or even refuse credit to someone masquerading as you if the creditor doesn't bother to look at your report during a transaction and isn't aware of the alert. The new service joins identity theft insurance and the FTC's ID Theft Affidavit, as weapons against identity fraud. ID theft insurance pays for some, but not all, financial losses associated with ID fraud and the affidavit is a single form used to alert companies where a new account was opened in your name to allow them to investigate the fraud and decide the outcome of your claim. Despite those services to help fight ID fraud, nine out of 10 American homeowners remain concerned about becoming victims of identity theft and an overwhelming 83 percent think the government should take more steps to help prevent identity theft, according to a national survey of 1,129 homeowners conducted by Harris Interactive for Fireman's Fund Insurance Company. Copyright © 2004 DeadlineNews.Com -- Broderick Perkins, is executive editor of San Jose, CA-based DeadlineNews.Com, an editorial content and consulting firm. Perkins has been a consumer and real estate journalist for more than 25 years. |