If you have a credit card, own a home, or even just opened a checking account, you’ve probably heard of the three credit report companies: Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion. These are the three major credit bureaus which compile all your credit information so that lenders, financial institutions, landlords, utility companies, and insurance firms can make decisions regarding any financial transaction you have with any of these companies quickly and impartially.

But while you may have heard the significance of your credit score or how important it is to keep your credit report as “clean” as possible, you’re probably wondering why you should get a report from all three credit report companies. Here are some of the reasons:

1. You won’t find the same information on each of the credit reports.

Remember that credit bureaus merely act as a data collector for all lending transactions made. While ideally they should contain the same information, the reality is that not all creditors report to all three credit bureaus. What details you may find in your Experian report may not be found on the other reports and vice versa. Further, creditors may not report to all credit companies at the same time so at any given time, one report may contain more up-to-date information than the others.

2. It’s possible to find errors on your credit report.

If by any chance you find any erroneous or unfamiliar item on your credit report, it certainly wouldn’t be the first case. The credit bureau may have simply put in the wrong information and if that’s the case you can still have this corrected. But the real danger is if the erroneous report is not due to a simple mistake but a case of identity theft. If you find a new credit card account or a mortgage application in your credit report which you have absolutely no knowledge of, contact the credit report company and the credit card issuer immediately.

3. You will have a different credit score for each credit bureau.

When you talk about your credit score, you’re actually referring to the FICO score. However, there are actually three different FICO scores which Fair Isaac developed for these three credit bureaus. While it’s possible to get the same information on your credit report for all three companies, the actual credit scores will vary by a few points because of the different models that they have been patterned after.

4. You’ll be able to get a clearer picture of your financial status as lenders may see it.

This is especially important if you’re applying for a big loan or making a major purchase. The best way of determining what your chances of being approved are is by getting all three credit reports at one time and giving it an advance check. Make sure there are no erroneous negative reports, or if there are, have them corrected or removed before handing in your loan application.

5. You are entitled to a free report from each of the three credit report companies every year.

Why sweat it out with just getting one report when you can have all three without having to spend a cent? Stagger your requests so that you are getting a free report once every four months. By doing this you not only keep a watchful eye on your credit picture throughout the year, you’ll also be able to spot any early signs of identity theft.

By getting your credit information from all three credit report companies, you’ll have a complete and clear picture of your credit profile and you’ll be able to keep your risk of identity theft to a minimum.

Credit card identity theft is perhaps one of the most common forms of identity theft. Unfortunately, many individuals fall victim to it year after year. The Federal Trade Commission has revealed that millions of dollars are lost collectively by consumers and credit card issuers from unauthorized use of stolen credit cards and credit card information.

Credit card identity theft comes in many guises but it basically occurs when another person steals your credit card information, or uses your credit card directly to make unauthorized charges. Basically it’s an identity thief going on a shopping spree, on your account – literally.

Getting Access to Information

There are many ways of getting access to a person’s individual information, and many of them are easier than you may think. In many instances, it didn’t take for sophisticated equipment or methods to get other people’s credit card data; try rummaging through garbage. And the garbage bin just outside your house may not be his only stop – thieves also look in waste baskets of restaurants for any discarded credit card receipts.

Another method of obtaining valuable information is by using a process called skimming. Criminals may tamper with an ATM machine such that the person using it unknowingly leaves behind an imprint of his credit card data. A dishonest store employee could also resort to this tactic by swiping a purchasing customer’s card twice – once on the register and again on a concealed and unauthorized data collection device.

Scammers may also simply trick you into giving out your credit card info, perhaps by baiting you with a free promo offer or a prize winning that requires you to give out credit information for shipping charges.

How to Prevent Credit Card Identity Theft

You can make it harder for identity thieves to steal your credit card data by taking preventive steps. One way is by making sure that all documents containing your important personal information including your Social Security number, paper statements, or any communications from banks or financial institutions are not left lying around for just anyone to look over, steal, or get information from. Any paper files that end up in the trash baskets should first be shredded. Likewise, before junking them, shred any pre-approved credit card offers that you are not interested in.

Secondly, be very careful about who or what company you give your information to. A lot of individuals are posing as legitimate representatives of credit card companies or banks, and others may send emails too. If in doubt about the legitimacy of the inquiry or request, call your bank using a verified phone number.

What To Do If You Fall Victim

Fortunately, laws are already in place to protect victims of this fraud. As soon as you suspect yourself of being one, immediately contact your credit card issuer and inform them. It is important that you immediately make a report of your suspicions so that you will no longer be held liable for any charges made on the card subsequently.

The Fair Credit Billing Act is the federal law that provides consumer protection for these particular situations. Under the Act, you can still notify the company up to 60 days of any erroneous billing included in your statement. This law also requires you to pay only up to $50 for unauthorized charges made.

While you may be protected from severe financial damages, it still doesn’t erase the fact that you are now vulnerable to whatever else these identity thieves choose to use your personal information for. Act quickly when you think your data may have been compromised. Or better yet, act smartly and take precautionary steps against credit card identity theft to prevent it from happening in the first place.

With the number of identity theft cases increasing worldwide, it can sometimes seem that everyone is at risk. And in a way, everyone is. Pretty much anyone can be targeted, and that’s why it’s important for you to know how to report identity theft in case it happens to you. So just how does one do it?

First off, to know how to report identity theft, you need to be aware that there is specific paperwork involved. The official document is called, logically enough, an Identity Theft Report. In essence, it’s a police report with a bit more detail than is usually found in a normal police report. This detailed report is important for the credit reporting companies and affected businesses to verify that you are a victim.

Correctly reporting a case of identity theft involves the following steps:

Step 1 - While not required, this step can be beneficial for the step to follow and will provide the FTC valuable information about the crime. This step involves filing a complaint with the FTC. You can file a complaint by clicking here. It’s important to note that the FTC will not resolve your complaint or even follow up with you. You are simply providing information to the FTC that will help them detect patterns of identity theft in your area – which in turn may lead them to open investigations if there are consistent patterns of identity theft.

Step 2 - Print a copy of your FTC complaint and take it to your local police department to open an official Identity Theft Report. They may or may not use your FTC complaint form as part of the report. However, having it ready will assist the police in drafting the report and will make the process easier for you because the FTC complaint form will have most of the information necessary for the report.

Step 3 - Now that you have your Identity Theft Report in hand, the next step involves sending a copy of it to the fraud departments of the three credit reporting companies and any businesses involved. You should do this by certified mail, return receipt requested. The companies might then ask you for additional information to help them verify your case. If they do ask you for this information, they have to do so within 15 days of receiving your Identity Theft Report. They then have 15 more days to make sure that your report has all the information they need. They are also allotted 5 days to review any additional information you give them.

Once you’ve correctly filed your Identity Theft Report, the credit reporting companies will permanently block fraudulent information from being entered in your credit report. This can prevent a company from trying to collect debts that have resulted from the identity theft, and from selling those debts to other companies. Your Identity Theft Report will also allow you to place an extended fraud alert on your credit report, which will further protect your credit by requiring creditors to verify your identity before issuing credit in your name.

Certainly no one expects to be targeted by identity theft. However, with this invisible threat lurking around every corner, you simply can’t afford to lack the proper information. Knowing how to report identity theft will at least ensure that you are properly prepared for the worst.

Credit report monitoring is one of the essentials to protecting yourself from identity theft. However, not everyone has the know-how, or even the time, to properly monitor their credit reports and protect their personal information. This is where credit monitoring services come in: for a fee, these services will do all the hands-on work for you, monitoring your reports for any activity and alerting you of any changes.

For many people, it might be well worth the price to have a third party protect their credit scores, but you should keep in mind that there are federal and state laws that entitle you to these services for free. For example, many companies allow you to flag or freeze your credit reports if you think you might be a victim of identity theft. However, this is already a right provided to you by law.

All in all, the greatest advantage of these services is their hands-off nature. Pretty much the only input that is needed from you is for you to sign up and make your monthly payments. This is a huge plus for the individual who simply doesn’t have the time to deal with all of this. However, if you feel that you are up to the challenge of taking your credit report monitoring into your own hands, here are three things you can do (most you can do for free):

Fraud Alerts

A fraud alert is a warning that is attached to your credit report that requires creditors to follow certain procedures to confirm your identity before issuing credit in your name. They are usually effective at preventing fraudulent accounts from being opened, but they might not be enough to prevent your valid accounts from being misused. If you suspect that you might be a victim of identity theft or if you think you’re at risk, you can have your credit report place a fraud alert, which lasts for 90 days. However, if you are already a victim of identity theft, an extended alert, which lasts for seven years, might be necessary.

Credit Freezes

A credit freeze is similar to a fraud alert, except that it completely stops all access to your credit report unless the freeze is temporarily or permanently lifted. Like fraud alerts, a freeze will make it more difficult for unauthorized individuals to open accounts in your name but it might not stop the misuse of your existing accounts.

In some states, anyone can freeze their own credit file while in others this option is only available to victims of identity theft. In most states, freezes are available for free to identity theft victims. If a fee is required, they usually cost around $10 per credit reporting company. However, the three major credit reporting companies have also begun offering freezes directly to consumers for a fee regardless of the relevant state laws.

Free Credit Reports

Every consumer in the U.S. has the right to one free annual credit report from each of the three nationwide consumer reporting companies for a total of three reports per year. If you spread out your requests throughout the year – say one every four months – you can effectively do your own credit report monitoring for free.

Credit report monitoring services are valuable for some consumers but the majority of what you pay for you can do by yourself for free. It all depends on whether you have the time and know-how to do so, or if you would rather hand the whole issue over to the professionals and not worry about it.

One of the reasons that makes identity theft so widespread is the numerous identity theft scams that criminals commit. Identity thieves keep coming up with new and more varied ways of gaining the information they need to carry out their crimes, and a thief’s methods are limited only by his or her imagination.

This may seem frightening at times. If a thief can basically just keep trying different methods until he finds something that breaks through your defenses, even the act of protecting yourself can seem pointless. But in the information age, the best thing you can do is to fight fire with fire: keeping yourself properly informed with up-to-date information is really the best defense you can have.

The following list will provide you with a quick run-down of the most common identity theft scams so you can take steps to prevent them from happening to you.

1. Dumpster Diving. In the age of the Internet and the near-instantaneous access to information, it can be hard to imagine a high-tech crime like identity theft stemming from a dumpster dive. But that is one of the most common sources of information for identity thieves. Identity thieves frequently find sensitive information by digging through trash, company dumpsters, or even city dumps. They look for intact documents with personal information they can use such as credit reports or bank account statements.

2. Mail Theft. Next to dumpster diving, mail theft is another common method thieves use to steal your personal information. Mailboxes are easy targets for these criminals as most are unsecured and usually located away from the house. And your mail doesn’t even need to be stolen to get your information. A thief can take note of where you bank, what credit cards you have, and where you get your insurance. They can then use this against you by a method called phishing (see below).

3. ATM Skimming. For a more tech-savvy method, some thieves use specialized devices called ATM skimmers that have the ability to read all the account information stored electronically on the magnetic stripe. This can be done by dishonest employees while processing your credit card when paying for something, or it can even be done when you use an ATM machine that has been tampered with by a criminal.

4. Direct Fraud. Other identity thieves go for a more direct approach: they pose as legitimate businesses or companies, or even lottery firms, and ask you to provide them with personal information for various reasons. They can offer fake jobs online and request personal information for a background check. They can say you’ve “won” a sweepstake or lottery and that they need you to confirm your personal information to claim the prize. They could also pose as an insurance firm that requires your personal information to process some new policy.

5. Shoulder Surfing. Some thieves can get loads of information just by looking over your shoulder while you conduct an ATM transaction or fill out a form that requires your personal information (either offline or online).

6. Phishing.When talking about identity theft over the Internet, the first thing that usually comes to mind is hacking. This is indeed a method used by identity thieves but there is a more unobtrusive way to get your information. They can get your information by tricking you through a scam called phishing.

This is a method where you receive an email that appears to be an official email from a company you trust – say your bank. The email may ask you to confirm your username and password to your online account as they are doing “maintenance” and “updating” of their account databases. Because you trust the company and the email appears to come from them, you provide the information. The thief then has total access to your account!

These are just the more common ways which thieves get the information they need to commit identity theft. But by being aware of even a fraction of the different identity theft scams, you can at least get an idea of how these thieves operate, and this information will be immeasurably valuable when it comes to protecting yourself.

Identity theft is one of the most prevalent consumer crimes in the U.S. Approximately nine million Americans are victimized by this type of crime every year, according to the Federal Trade Commission. Yet not everyone is aware of this, and many people still find themselves asking “what is identity theft?”

Identity theft involves the use of your personal information, such as your name, Social Security number, or credit card number, to commit fraud. The crime can take any of a number of different forms. A thief can use your identity to rent an apartment, open bank accounts in your name, or even use your existing accounts. The effects for the victim can be just as varied as the crime: they can be as minor as being charged for purchases you didn’t make, to missing out on job opportunities, to being denied loans due to dirty credit reports, to even being arrested for crimes someone else committed (although this last one rarely happens).

So how do thieves go about stealing your identity? As said above, a thief needs to get his or her hands on some crucial piece of personal information. The methods they employ to go about doing this are varied. The most primitive method is “dumpster diving,” or searching through your trash for intact receipts, credit reports, or other documents that contain personal information.

If that doesn’t work, they can resort to plain old-fashioned stealing: a stolen wallet, purse, or laptop can provide more than enough information for identity theft. Other thieves can take this a step further and use specialized devices to steal just the information stored on your credit card. Still other thieves try to trick you into providing the information they need. They pose as financial institutions or companies and try to get you to provide information online to “update their databases.”

The follow-up question to what is identity theft is, of course, what can I do about it? The answer is quite simple: the best thing you can do to make sure you’re not victimized is to be informed. Unfortunately, most victims don’t find out that something’s going on until it’s too late and the damage comes home to them.

You might find out that something’s amiss when a bill collection agency contacts you for overdue debts you never incurred, when odd problems in your credit history hold up a loan application, or when you receive something in the mail about a job you’ve never had or some purchase you’ve never made. However, preventing potential crimes from escalating to this point is pretty simple. By regularly monitoring your credit report, you can be sure to spot suspicious activities before they turn into anything serious.

Identity theft is certainly a big issue. But it doesn’t have to be an unsolvable one. Information will always be your biggest weapon against identity thieves, and the first step in becoming informed is, of course, answering the question, “what is identity theft?”

Computers have become an essential part of our everyday lives and because of this, we have also become susceptible to computer identity theft. And don’t think that this type of identity theft can only exist if you are online. For as long as own a computer, you could fall victim to identity theft, with or without internet connection.

Our computers are loaded with tons of information including personal details, bank or credit card account numbers, Social Security number, and other important data which, while we may take for granted, can prove to be very useful to individuals seeking to commit fraud or worse, to those who are out to discredit your good name.

While it’s easy to imagine how a hacker can gain access to all these information using Trojans or malware, acquiring sensitive data without the benefit of online access is also quite simple. Here are the ways on how it can be done.

• Accessing information stored on old computers or hard drives. Take extra caution when selling or giving away old computers. You never know when any data stored there might fall into the wrong hands. If possible, remove the hard drive if you decide to dispose of an old unit. Whether you put it in storage or destroy it, just make sure the info doesn’t get used by anybody else.
• Inadequate removal of stored data. If you decide to erase personal files in your computer before disposing of it, take care that you do so completely. Deleting files using keyboard or mouse commands are definitely not enough, and sometimes, even reformatting the hard drive won’t do the trick for computer-savvy criminals, which most of them are. Your best course of action is to use a “wipe” utility program to overwrite the whole hard drive.
• Unauthorized access. If your computer is located in an area where other people may gain access to it without your knowledge, you could be setting yourself up for possible computer identity theft. It would be easy enough to check your files for documents where you may have stored your various login credentials.
• Cookies. There are also such things known as “cookies” which are small files typically concealed in a folder in your hard drive that keeps a log of details of websites you have visited while browsing the Internet previously. If you have been doing online banking earlier, or checked your credit card balance, all the information you used could be found on these cookies.
• Information from stolen computers or laptops. One of the simplest ways for crooks to get hold of your identity via your computer is getting it. Laptops are the most common targets. Once the thief has your computer or laptop in his possession, finding your important info, whether through the files stored or using cookies, would be the next step for him.

The computer can be an indispensable equipment that few of us could live without in this day and age. However, there are also consequences that we have to deal with as technology progresses and identity theft is one of these. As this is a serious problem that can have lasting damaging effects on the victim, take steps to ensure that you protect yourself from computer identity theft.

Believe it or not, the combination of computerized medical records and medical identity theft can be a potentially dangerous recipe for fleecing thousand of consumers of their health insurance benefits. So while hospitals clamor for a more technologically advanced system of keeping track of patients’ records, they could unknowingly be setting the stage up for widespread medical fraud.

The Benefits of Electronic Records

On the one hand, keeping computerized medical records is one of the best ways of organizing patients’ files, making the job easier for the personnel doing it, and at the same time allowing the patient to receive critical care faster because of the more systematized recording and filing system. Gone would be the days when a hospital clerk would have to go through hundreds of cumbersome patient files before finding the right one.

How Computerization Helps Encourage Fraud

But on the other hand, it could also make these records more accessible to those who have ill-intent, hackers and identity thieves in particular. Unlike with the traditional records system, these crooks won’t even need to be physically present in the hospital or clinic to pilfer crucial information.

With paper trails, it’s unlikely that a single person or even a group of individuals would be able to get away with stealing hundreds of medical records without anyone noticing. If the records were in computer files however, it would be easy enough to hack into an inadequately-guarded system or copy thousands of electronic records into a small disk.

Plus, computerized files would make it easier for identity thieves to filter out the most vulnerable victims such as those who rarely need to use their medical benefits or even the recently deceased. All they would need to get started on making fraudulent claims are basic information like name and age, and the Social Security number. Some hospitals don’t require insurance policy numbers before giving treatment, but even that piece of information is easily obtainable from the files.

The Dangers of Medical Identity Theft

This type of identity theft can go on for years without the victim finding out — not until he would need to use insurance himself for medical care services, or when the data shows up on collections in the victim’s credit report. In many cases filed, the insurance companies continue to honor impostors’ claims until the real owner is in need of treatment and finds out that he has allegedly used up his annual or even lifetime cap on insurance benefits and can no longer make any additional claims.

The risk goes beyond the financial aspect. What could even be more dangerous for the victim is that whatever claims made against his identity could be put on permanent file on his medical record. This increases the risk of misdiagnosis or erroneous medication when he does come in for health issues.

What Needs to be Done

Unfortunately, few protective measures are in place for victims of medical identity theft as compared to others. For instance, if your credit card is stolen and the thief maxes out your card, you are not accountable for more than $50. But when the thief makes claims on your health insurance racking up thousands of dollars in medical bills, the false claims can drag on unresolved and unpaid for years, wreaking havoc on your credit rating.

While the federal government is prepared to spend billions on setting up a system for computerized medical records across the country, care should also be taken that enough safeguarding measures are put in place to ward off medical identity theft.

Now that young children and even infants are assigned their own Social Security Numbers, child identity theft has become more prevalent. The sad thing is that, many of these types of crimes remain undetected for a long time, in some cases, not until the child comes of legal age and attempts to establish his own credit history.

Child identity theft defined

Just what is child identity theft? It is a kind of identity theft method that takes place when an impostor uses the identity of a child for his own personal use, often to apply for credit cards, obtain driver’s licenses, or open deposit accounts. According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), about 5% of identity theft cases are those of children.

Who are the perpetrators?

Stealing a child’s identity is usually committed by a family member or someone known to the family. It could also be done by a complete stranger who intentionally targets a child, confident in the knowledge that it may well be a long time before the crime is discovered. For any of these people, it’s not difficult to commit child identity theft. All they need is the minor’s name and his or her Social Security number (SSN). This should be easily obtainable by someone close to the family, and even for those who are not as this information is often disclosed when filling up medical, dental, or hospital records, applying for insurance, or when registering in schools and daycare centers.

What effect does identity theft have on the child victim?

Armed with false identity, identity thieves can now open fraudulent bank accounts and credit cards, acquire utility and internet accounts, apply for jobs, and even file taxes. A thief can practically create a new life using that stolen information. But once that fake identity is established, he is also free to do damage on that “life”, particularly on the child’s unblemished credit record by maxing out credit cards without any intention of paying, leaving bills unpaid, and even a criminal record is not a far-off possibility. These could have dire consequences on the child victim including:

• Starting adult life with a low credit rating
• A possible criminal record
• Having credit applications denied
• Inability to land a decent job because of the flawed record hounding him
• Being served an arrest warrant for a crime he had no knowledge of

What are the red flags that indicate a child’s identity may have been stolen?

It is possible for a child whose identity is being used by another person to go through most of his childhood unaware of this fact. In most cases however, it is the parent who gets to be aware of indications that something is amiss. The most common signs of child identity theft are:

• An attempt to open a bank account or a college savings fund is denied because an account already exists with a duplicate SSN
• Pre-approved credit cards, checks, and bills made out to the child are received
• The household receives calls from collection agencies or communications from banks regarding accounts supposedly opened by the child

Having his identity stolen could be the worst thing that could happen to a child. Through no fault of his own, that child has had his “life” lived out for him, and not in a good way. The best course of action to do damage control is to have a background check on a child if anything seems untoward. By taking steps against child identity theft, a parent can secure his child’s financial future.