Credit Protection Worksheet
FP/101-Foundations of Personal Finance
Credit Protection and Identity Theft
Directions
Refer to:
Free Credit Report on the Federal Trade Commission’s site.
Identity Theft resource center on the Federal Trade Commission’s site.
Provide answers to three of the following questions based on your readings and your personal experiences. Answers should be 100-to 150-words each.
1. If you find errors on your credit report, what steps would you take to correct them?
You’d tell the credit reporting company, in writing, what information that you found that’s inaccurate on your credit report. The agency must investigate the items within 30 days usually, unless they consider your
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3. Have you, a family member, or a friend been a victim of identity theft? How did it happen? Describe the resolution process- ex. how much time did it take, what credit damage was corrected?
My Mom was actually just recently a victim of identity theft, a couple weeks ago she got a call from her bank questioning some charges that had been made in New Jersey around the same times she had made charges in Toledo, where we live. Obviously my Mom told them they were fraudulent charges because she’s never been to New Jersey so the bank put a freeze on her account. They think someone had gotten her account number by putting a magnetic strip at a gas pump she had used somewhere. It took about a week for her to get everything straightened out, she had to cancel her card as well so it took 10 days for her to get a replacement..it was a big hassle.
4. Using the FTC site, what can you do to minimize the chance of your identity getting stolen?
Some of the things you can do to minimize the chances of your identity being stolen would be to kep your important, personal papers in a an organized secure place at all times. Shredding personal papers and documents, and making sure that any personal information or account numbers are blacked out if they’re thrown in the trash. Always make sure to keep only any personal information
There is no “sure” way to stop identity theft from happening to someone. There are only measures that may make it harder for thieves to steal someone’s identity because nothing is foolproof. People can shred their important documents after they’re done with them to help prevent their identity to be stolen via dumpster diving, but the thief may find all the shreds and put them together just like a puzzle. The odds of this happening are slim, but there is still a chance, a chance lower than just throwing it out. People should make sure to not use ATMs and not to do personal banking in public, but this will only slow down a thief who is determined to steal someone’s identity. Once a thief is determined to steal someone’s identity and only their identity, there are not many obstacles stopping him/her.
Local and national agencies are addressing the issues of identity theft. Local officials are able to concentrate on specific occurrences and alert their constituents as needed. They are the first line of defense. City and county websiteshave links to useful information that citizens can utilize. Local libraries and community centers offer classes and workshops on how to prevent identity theft and what consumers can do if theirs is stolen.
Over the last few years, the number of reported cases of identity theft has skyrocketed, from 86,000 reported cases in 2001 to over 10,000,000 in 2005 (Weisman).
Identity theft is one of the fastest growing crimes in the United States. It is said to affect 9 million Americans annually. A few ways that you can protect yourself from identity theft would be to shred any papers that have any of your personal information on them. This would include cash register reciepts, pre-approved credit card offers and even your cell phone bill. It is really sad that these people that steal your identity go through the trash just to get information. Be aware of any networking sites that has your full name and date of birth on it. Use a nick name and let your friends know what you have chosen. Make sure that you log out of any program that has access to your private information. If you are using a shared computer
Dr. Deming, identity theft is when someone steals your personal information such as your social security number or name (Brown, DeHayes, Hoffer, Martin & Perkins, 2012). Once the theft obtains one’s information, one uses it to create a fraudulent documents such as credit applications, income taxes, and other items. These actions can damage your credit and it cost one money and time to restore their name to good status. There are different type of identity theft that can occur. Those are: child, tax, medical, senior, or social theft (Kess, Grimaldi, Revels, 2017). When clearing your name of identity theft, one must contact each vendor where fraudulent activity has occurred. Also, one must report it to the proper law enforcement and the federal
Identity theft is committed every day in the United States. This form of crime can be extremely serious and life changing. The amount of resources the United States puts toward the prevention of identity theft is just not enough. Identity theft can harm a persons’ entire life because of all the damage that the thief can cause in such a short amount of time. Identity theft is a threat to everybody and the world as a whole should be more aware of the consequences because of all the pain it can cause. Being the victim of identity theft comes with severe consequences and the attorney general’s office, police departments, and banks need to start educating the population about this
7. If your identification has been assumed, ask the money score agency to print a statement to that effect in your credit score
Do you have a bad credit rating and are not sure how it happened? You are not alone. Possibly millions of Australians have a bad credit rating, and many of us are unaware we have black marks against our name until we apply for credit and are flatly refused.
Identity theft can happen anywhere we go. The damages could be costly and time-consuming. Fortunately, there are several great ways to protect yourself from identity theft. One of the best ways is to shred all unwanted credit card offers, bank or credit statements, and receipts. Simply throwing this information away allows thieves to have access to precious personal information. All financial documents should be managed cautiously. Additionally, opting out of pre approved credit card offers would reduce the chance of identity theft tremendously. In all honesty, credit cards should be handled as vigilantly as cash money. Your cards should be stored protectively. Therefore, making it hard for thieves to gain access to them. Also, all credit
One of the first things you should do is to place a fraud alert on your credit report. A fraud alert essentially places a red flag on your credit
One of the major downfalls of identity theft is the fact that, in most cases, it takes the victim a large amount of time before noticing there has been a robbery. The best way to keep an eye on your identity is too closely monitor your credit report on a monthly basis. For example, the report will advise you of your credit score. If there has been a major change, you should investigate further to find out why there has been a change in your credit rating. Additionally, paying close attention to your monthly bank statements and credit card statements will warn you if there have been any charges completed that you were not aware of. A faster way to manage the review of your statements would be to view them online on a daily or weekly basis to
Identity theft is the fastest growing fraud crime in America (Finklea, 2009). Gaining knowledge in preventing theft will better the economy and lower the crime rates in America. There are reported 9.9 million victims of identity theft and this number is increasing rapidly as the years go on. It has been reported that an estimate of fifty billion dollars has been charged to our consumers every year due to identity theft (Finklea, 2009).
A few tips to defend yourself from fraud would be to lock electronic devices like cell phones and computers, change your passwords regularly, create strong passwords, examine your bank accounts and credit card statements frequently, shred personal records, install security software on your phone and computer and steer clear of public Wi-Fi connections. If you detect questionable activity, make contact with your financial institution straightaway. The quicker you do your chances of getting your money back improves greatly. If you receive notification of a data breach, put a fraud alert on your credit report so creditors take additional safety measures to ensure anyone applying for credit with your name is in fact you. Lastly, make the most
In order to help avoid any unwanted situation, you must first completely understand the situation. Identity theft, as previously stated is when a criminal gets ahold of someone’s personal information and generally uses it to get into their bank accounts and steal money. Some of them get into your accounts and steal your money because they are drug or alcohol addicts and need a way to feed their addiction. However, there are many other reasons for why a criminal would want to get into your personal records and accounts. Sometimes, people can use identity theft for some sort of sick and twisted revenge method. For example, one man was upset at his ex-girlfriend and so he hacked into their personal information, stole photos of her and her daughter,