Colorado Springs Vintage Homes Blog

Tips for Colorado Springs Consumers – what is identify theft?

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Colorado Springs Vintage Homes is happy to feature a great article

on Identify Theft from

Anza Goodbar, President of Clearview Mortgage 

What is identity theft?  Identity theft occurs when someone uses your personal identifying information, like your name, Social Security number, or credit card number, without your permission, to commit fraud or other crimes.  It is estimated that nearly 9 million US citizens have their identities stolen each year.

In today’s world, your credit score may be one of the most valuable possessions you have.  A good credit score can save you thousands of dollars in interest on a car or home loan.  It is more important than ever to safeguard yourself against being victimized by fraudulent activities on your credit report.  Here are three areas you can control to safeguard yourself against identity theft.

Prevent -

• Shred financial information.
• Protect your Social Security number.
• Don’t give out personal information on the phone.
• Never click on links sent in unsolicited e-mail.
• Don’t use an obvious password.
• Keep your personal information in a secure place.

Pin Point -

• Detect suspicious activity by routinely monitoring your financial accounts and billing statements. Be alert to signs that require immediate attention.
• Bills that do not arrive as expected.
• Unexpected credit cards or account statements.
• Denials of credit for no apparent reason.
• Calls or letters about purchases you did not make.
• Regularly inspect your credit report.
• Regularly inspect your financial statements.

Protect -

If you suspect that you may have been a victim of identity theft, you can file a “fraud alert” with each credit reporting agency. This alert tells creditors to follow certain procedures before they open new accounts in your name or make changes to your existing accounts.   The three nationwide consumer reporting companies have toll-free numbers for placing an initial 90-day fraud alert.

Placing a fraud alert entitles you to a free copy of your credit reports from each reporting agency.  Look for inquiries from companies you haven’t contacted, accounts you didn’t open, and debts on your accounts that you can’t explain.  For more information about recovering from Identity Theft go to the Federal Trade Commissions website at: http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/microsites/idtheft/consumers/defend.html.

Written by Anza Goodbar, President of Clearview Mortgage   Have a question? Contact Anza .

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Kathy (719-287-1049)   KTorline@msn.com

Tags: Colorado Springs Financial tips, credit card, credit card safety, Credit Score, fraud alert, identity theft

This entry was posted on Wednesday, September 3rd, 2008 at 4:33 pm and is filed under Mortgage and Finance. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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