Find out below*
But first … Teenagers are a lot of things. Increasingly they are targets for ID theft. In fact the younger you are, the better victim you make. That’s because if someone has obtained your social security number, you probably won’t know. Older folks will find out someone has used their credit when they try to get a loan and are turned down, or they’ll get a call from a credit card company reporting suspicious activity. But, say, you’re 12 years old. You aren’t getting a car loan and it could be years before you find out there’s a problem.
You can see our story on Kate here.
Anyone with a social security number should be checking their credit report at least once a year. Young kids and teenagers should also do this, as our story illustrated. Just because young kids and teens don't have credit cards, car loans or home mortgages .. doesn't mean someone won't try to use their credit to do so. Half a million teenagers were victims of id theft. Many never thought to check their credit report. They should.
You can get an annual copy of your credit report, for free, from all three credit reporting agencies, once a year. If you're smart, space it out. Get one copy from one of the credit agencies. Wait four months, get another copy of your report from a different credit agency, etc. That way you won’t go a whole year in between reports. If you have them sent to you at home. Don’t leave them lying around. And don’t throw them in the garbage. Shred them!
Here's where you can get your annual credit report.
Here's how to contact each of the individual credit reporting agencies:
Equifax
TransUnion
Experian
*****If you want to see which companies get the most ID Theft/Fraud complaints, read this article.
Companies don't like to divulge this information. It turns out UC Berkeley's Center for Law and Technology, using a Freedom of Information Act request, got a small sampling of information from the Federal Trade Commission, which collects ID Theft/Fraud complaints from companies.
But first … Teenagers are a lot of things. Increasingly they are targets for ID theft. In fact the younger you are, the better victim you make. That’s because if someone has obtained your social security number, you probably won’t know. Older folks will find out someone has used their credit when they try to get a loan and are turned down, or they’ll get a call from a credit card company reporting suspicious activity. But, say, you’re 12 years old. You aren’t getting a car loan and it could be years before you find out there’s a problem.
You can see our story on Kate here.
Anyone with a social security number should be checking their credit report at least once a year. Young kids and teenagers should also do this, as our story illustrated. Just because young kids and teens don't have credit cards, car loans or home mortgages .. doesn't mean someone won't try to use their credit to do so. Half a million teenagers were victims of id theft. Many never thought to check their credit report. They should.
You can get an annual copy of your credit report, for free, from all three credit reporting agencies, once a year. If you're smart, space it out. Get one copy from one of the credit agencies. Wait four months, get another copy of your report from a different credit agency, etc. That way you won’t go a whole year in between reports. If you have them sent to you at home. Don’t leave them lying around. And don’t throw them in the garbage. Shred them!
Here's where you can get your annual credit report.
Here's how to contact each of the individual credit reporting agencies:
Equifax
TransUnion
Experian
*****If you want to see which companies get the most ID Theft/Fraud complaints, read this article.
Companies don't like to divulge this information. It turns out UC Berkeley's Center for Law and Technology, using a Freedom of Information Act request, got a small sampling of information from the Federal Trade Commission, which collects ID Theft/Fraud complaints from companies.
Gregory Cook, Evofi One, Inc. the mortage loan officer who appeared in our story "Kate's Identity Theft" told us about Evofi's new weapon to fight fraud and identity theft. The company just incorporated newly developed software they call FRAUD FREE ZONE. Evofi has spent 3 years developing this software. FRAUD FREE ZONE will analyze every loan application and will prevent most common types of fraud as well as mistakes in loan applications.
Read how the U.S. contradicts itself
over its ID theft advice.
1 comment:
As a credit expert, I have the chance to review thousands of credit reports each month. I help solve common credit issues every day. One major issue that consumers do not usually think about is the cost of an INQUIRY. Inquiries are one of the leading causes of credit scoring issues. Checking even your own credit can cause your credit scores to drop as much as 100 points. Avoid credit monitoring companies and visit www.optoutpreescreen.com to :"Opt Out" of solicitation inquiries.
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