It's time for a little PSA...
When was the last time you checked your credit report? I am sure for my friends who have recently bought houses or cars, it was not too long ago, but what about everyone else?
For me, the answer is Wednesday morning.
Tuesday night, I figured out that someone compromised my identity and opened five credit cards in the NY/NJ area. We know that it was with a fake driver's license and credit card with my address and birth date, but otherwise incorrect information. A police report, 7 phone calls to the credit reporting agencies and credit cards issued, and two hours of my morning...I am on my way to restoring my kicka** credit score.
They said that there are so many possible places where identity information can leak due to the technology that it is hard to track. You can still do all of the right things and have this happen. The moral of the story is to do our best to protect your information and be alert.
My biggest fear was that the companies would not believe me leading to a showdown. Fortunately, it was pretty clear from the method used that I was a credible fraud case. I really appreciated how the fraud office staff were helpful in sharing info about the situation and walking me through the paperwork that I will need to complete. They connected me right on the phone to the credit bureaus to get things confirmed and all free fraud protections set up right away.
Here are some tips, especially with the holidays:
1. Open all of your mail - Even if it looks like it is just a credit card offer...open it. Because I open my mail to recycle envelopes and shred everything, I was able to figure this out pretty quickly. I received a bunch of credit cards in the last week and two bills on Tuesday.
2. Check your credit report - Everyone is now entitled to one free report per year from each of the three companies. This does not count against your score! Here is where you can find the info...https://www.annualcreditreport.com/cra/index.jsp (Barbara at Citi will be so happy to know that I have shared this info!)
3. Just keep an eye on everything! Luckily, my personal credit cards and bank are not compromised. I have added fraud alerts and extra verification to my accounts just to be on the safe side. Luckily, my money and my cards are okay at this point.
4. For more information about protecting yourself, your credit, and your money...http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/microsites/idtheft/index.html
There is a lot of paperwork to track, but I'll get it fixed. With the holidays around the corner let's keep our money safe!
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