The subject is credit fraud; people looking at my stuff when I don't want them too. To be sure, if I am looking to buy a car or purchase a new crib I want all the right people to have access to my credit report and get me the loans I need.
But what about the woman who use to own my house. Just recently I opened bills addressed to her, and she hasn't lived here in two years. What got my attention was two "new account" cell phone bills from two different carriers, when I remember she never had a cell phone during my purchase transaction. Shortly after this we started getting "new" credit card accounts opened in her name but with our address. When the $3,000 bill for a new Dell Computer arrived with a different delivery address than ours, I knew something was up. I contacted the Fraud Unit at the US Post Office.
But what else can we do? Well, the latest is to FREEZE YOURSELF. Beginning Oct. 15, TransUnion, one of the three major credit reporting agencies, will allow consumers in all 50 states to freeze their credit files. A second agency, Equifax, promised it will make a similar move soon and Experian is looking into it.
Consumers in all 50 states already have the right to place a fraud alert, regardless of whether they are victims of ID theft. The fraud alert lasts for 90 days and alerts new creditors and other businesses checking the credit worthiness of an applicant that the consumer may be a victim of fraud.
While the fraud alert merely asks the lender to take additional precautions, a credit or security freeze prevents third parties from receiving a copy of the consumer's credit report or credit score, making businesses less likely to grant credit or services to the applicant. Only businesses with a permissible purpose, or for whom the consumer lifts the freeze, may obtain the consumer's credit information.
"(The) credit freeze is part of a trend of giving individuals more control over their consumer reports. This control is necessary because credit grantors do not screen applications for fraud carefully enough to stop identity theft," says Chris Jay Hoofnagle, senior staff attorney to the Samuelson Law, Technology & Public Policy Clinic and senior fellow to the Berkeley Center for Law and Technology at the University of California-Berkeley.
Those who wish to freeze their credit report can do so by mailing a freeze request to TransUnion. They will receive a PIN that they can use to lift the freeze temporarily by either writing or calling. Consumers also can remove the freeze permanently, but must do so in writing. The credit freeze will remain in effect until removed by the consumer.
But what about the woman who use to own my house. Just recently I opened bills addressed to her, and she hasn't lived here in two years. What got my attention was two "new account" cell phone bills from two different carriers, when I remember she never had a cell phone during my purchase transaction. Shortly after this we started getting "new" credit card accounts opened in her name but with our address. When the $3,000 bill for a new Dell Computer arrived with a different delivery address than ours, I knew something was up. I contacted the Fraud Unit at the US Post Office.
But what else can we do? Well, the latest is to FREEZE YOURSELF. Beginning Oct. 15, TransUnion, one of the three major credit reporting agencies, will allow consumers in all 50 states to freeze their credit files. A second agency, Equifax, promised it will make a similar move soon and Experian is looking into it.
Consumers in all 50 states already have the right to place a fraud alert, regardless of whether they are victims of ID theft. The fraud alert lasts for 90 days and alerts new creditors and other businesses checking the credit worthiness of an applicant that the consumer may be a victim of fraud.
While the fraud alert merely asks the lender to take additional precautions, a credit or security freeze prevents third parties from receiving a copy of the consumer's credit report or credit score, making businesses less likely to grant credit or services to the applicant. Only businesses with a permissible purpose, or for whom the consumer lifts the freeze, may obtain the consumer's credit information.
"(The) credit freeze is part of a trend of giving individuals more control over their consumer reports. This control is necessary because credit grantors do not screen applications for fraud carefully enough to stop identity theft," says Chris Jay Hoofnagle, senior staff attorney to the Samuelson Law, Technology & Public Policy Clinic and senior fellow to the Berkeley Center for Law and Technology at the University of California-Berkeley.
Those who wish to freeze their credit report can do so by mailing a freeze request to TransUnion. They will receive a PIN that they can use to lift the freeze temporarily by either writing or calling. Consumers also can remove the freeze permanently, but must do so in writing. The credit freeze will remain in effect until removed by the consumer.