Money Listens

Would you know what to do if a bank called and said someone was attempting to open an account in your name?  Have you thought about buying credit card protection?  Are you worried about identity theft?

There’s a good article in today’s Wall Street Journal about credit monitoring services:  Cardholders Buy Peace of Mind, if Not Security. You can read about some consumers’ experiences with the four largest companies and get some tips for securing your information.  The companies mentioned are CardCops, LifeLock Inc., Debix Inc. and TrustedID Inc.  A service can’t protect you from everything, but it is good for people who don’t have the time or computer savy to do it themselves.

There’s also a non-profit agency, Identity Theft Resource Center, that helps victims.  The center has an excellent website loaded with resources and “Fact Sheets.”  You can get step by step instructions on everything from what to do if your wallet or PDA is stolen to how to get a credit report for a child.  It has a Fact Sheet on how to understand your credit report that is one of the best I’ve read.  Regularly reviewing your credit report is the most important way to detect identity theft.

Would you know what to do if a bank called and said someone was attempting to open an account in your name?  I would go to the Identity Theft Resource Center’s website and follow their advice.

Do you ever wonder why you keep getting all those credit card offers in the mail? The credit card companies aren’t wasting their money. It works! Nearly 70 percent of credit card accounts come from those “pre-approved” offers in your mailbox. Mailings have grown from 1 billion in 1992 to about 5 billion in 2002. That’s an average of 17 offers for every man, woman, and child in the U.S. And a few dogs, too.

These solicitations cause you:

• the inconvenience of receiving unwanted mail,
• the possibility of identity theft,
• the possible loss of privacy,
• the potential for additional debt burden.

Thankfully, you can prevent most of these unwanted offers by “Opting-Out”, which is the process of removing your name from lists. The Consumer Credit Reporting Companies maintain lists to be used for “pre-approved” offers of credit or insurance. Visit the website www.optoutprescreen.com. You may opt-out online for 5 years, or print and mail a permanent opt-out request.This is a free service. Opting-out does not affect your ability to obtain credit or insurance, nor does it impact your credit score.

The Direct Marketing Association (DMA) tracks consumers who don’t want to receive other mail or telephone solicitations. The DMA website has good information, but they will try to talk you into keeping the junk mail. “What? You won’t get free samples if you opt out!”

Opting-out will not end solicitations from all local merchants, charities, business and alumni associations, politicians, and companies with which you have done business in the past 18 months. So you’ll still get offers from your own bank or insurance company. And you’ll still get your grocery store ads. To eliminate mail from these groups - as well as mail addressed to “occupant”– you would have to write directly to each source.

Opting-out will significantly reduce the time you waste shredding or recycling the majority of your junk mail. It’s good for the environment and it’s good for your time and your wallet.

Statistics from the Information Policy Institute (2003), The Fair Credit Reporting Act: Access, Efficiency & Opportunity: The Economic Importance of Fair Credit Reauthorization (Washington: National Chamber Foundation for the IPI, June), p. 57, table 13, www.infopolicy.org/pdf/fcra_report.pdf.

You should have an annual check-up. Has it been at least 12 months since your last one? The three major Consumer Credit Reporting Companies, Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion have a central website for checking credit reports. It’s AnnualCreditReport.com. You may get a free report once a year from each company. You may get all three at once, or just one at a time. The companies are not doing this out of the goodness of their heart, this is required by the Federal Trade Commission.

Once at the AnnualCreditReport website, enter your state and fill out a form. You need your birthdate and social security number. Then you have an option of which company you would like to get a report from. Just pick one, it’s like Coke and Pepsi, they are very much alike. I selected TransUnion. At that website I set up an account with a password. The tricky part of this process is how the company asks questions to confirm you are who you say you are. You have to answer questions based upon past addresses or employers, or imput your exact payment amounts from creditors. It’s a good way to keep someone who has gotten your birthdate and social security number from finding out more info about you. Once through this, you have to keep saying “no, thanks” to offers of newletters or services you pay for. (A Debt Analysis costs $5.95, who knows what that is). Then, you can view and print your report. It’s really not so hard. You can return to the AnnualCreditReport website and select another company, or just logout and call it a day.

If you discover something negative on your report, the website details the correction process. The FTC has an excellent website with information on repairing your credit.

It’s hard to remember a once-a-year time to do this. This month, around the time you prepare your taxes, might be a good choice. Checking your credit report is much less painful than paying taxes.