The Identity Theft Victim & Their Rights

So here's an ironic story for you about identity theft. The last blog I wrote on identity theft was on a Friday. I wrote about what steps you can take to protect yourself from identity theft -- especially mail identity theft. I then went to a nice barbeque party and watched my kids swim with their friends. Didn't really enjoy my turkey dog -- an attempt to be healthier -- but have decided since then that I'll stick to all-beef franks. On the way home, I grabbed my mail, tucked the kids in bed, and then read my mail. And to my horror, received a letter from my credit card company who was putting me on alert as one of their former employees had stolen personal information from some accounts and mine happened to be one of them. I looked at my husband, thinking perhaps this theory of Law of Attraction might actually be valid, and then began a scenario of what-ifs with this villain using my very name to open up accounts, buy a home etc. After wallowing for seconds, I called the fraud alert hotline. So they've caught the thief but the investigation is ongoing and who knows if he's sold the information already. What I realized is that it's one thing to discuss identity theft and the steps to take, and it certainly is another to feel yourself vulnerable and at risk -- and of no fault of your own. My husband saw the rainbow of it all -- well, now you'll have another article to write -- so here I am.

There are certainly many steps you can take to protect yourself from not carrying your social security card in your wallet to having a secure mailbox. But what about if you give trusted information to a company -- like a credit card company -- and one of their employees steals it. There's nothing you can do after that point. You hope that the company has done background checks, employment screenings, behavioral assessments, but there are always risks -- which is what I discovered. What is immediate action you can do once you've realized someone has stolen your information? Of course if it's a stolen wallet, you notify banks, credit card companies, social security etc. But what else should you do? What are your rights?

1. Immediately call the nationwide consumer reporting companies and place a fraud alert in your file. Everyone has the right to do this and this lets potential creditors know that you may be a victim of identity theft. Therefore, this makes it much more difficult for someone to get credit in your name. There are three nationwide consumer reporting agencies and if you contact one and place a fraud alert -- they'll contact the other two. They are Equifax: 1-800-525-6285; www.equifax.com, Experian: 1-888-397-3742; www.experian.com, and TransUnion: 1-800-680-7289; www.transunion.com. These fraud alerts will be in your file for 90 days. Extended alerts are also possible, but an identity theft report is required. For more information, go to www.consumer.gov/idtheft.
2. You have a right to obtain a free copy of your file disclosure. What is a file disclosure? This is the information in your file at each of the 3 nationwide agencies and will help you detect if fraudulent accounts have been opened in your name. Go to www.ftc.gov/credit.
3. If fraudulent accounts were opened using your information, you have the right to get hold of those documents. Go to www.consumer.gov/idtheft.
4. You have a debt collector harassing you? And if you believe these debts were racked up by an identity thief, the debt collector has an obligation to tell you the amount of debt and the name of the creditor. You also have the right to have the consumer reporting agency to block file information which is a direct result of identity theft. Of course you must prove this with your identity and a copy of your identity theft report. Once this is done, a person or business with notice of the block can't sell, transfer or place the debt for collection. But even before this, you have the right to prevent businesses reporting information about you to consumer reporting agencies. You must then provide information to the businesses -- via a specified address given by the business that reports information to the consumer reporting agency -- by providing an identity theft report. So whatever step you are on -- via the business, the consumer reporting agency and even the debt collector -- you always have rights.

Clearly, no one wants to be a victim of identity theft, but if you have tools in hand and are aware of what actions need to be taken and what rights you have -- you can reverse the scenario and stop the thief in his tracks. An even simpler way is to set up with a company who provides identity theft services. There they will help prevent and also monitor your accounts if any significant changes occur. A word of caution, I'd do your research first -- before and if you become a victim. There are companies out there who provide the same service but for a much better cost. When we're desperate, we'll take the first monitoring bidder whatever the cost. So the message here? Prepare, prevent and monitor.