Identity Theft Hurts

Freeze the Fraud to Stop Your Identity Theft

When I dealt with Equifax, TransUnion and Experian during my identity theft ordeal, at first I placed a 90-day (Initial Security Alert) or fraud alert on my credit information, then a 7-year Extended Fraud Victim Alert and ultimately I added a full credit freeze in place.  As a victim of identity theft with a police report, I was able to get a complete credit freeze on all of my credit information with each of the three major credit reporting bureaus, free of charge. 

And since I live in Texas, the credit reporting agencies had to honor my request.  Thank you Texas!  Per TransUnion’s website: “When a Security Freeze is added to your TransUnion credit report, all third parties, such as credit lenders or other companies, whose use is not exempt under law will not be able to access your credit report without your consent.”  TransUnion will allow you to set a 6-digit Personal Identification Number to unfreeze your account as you deem necessary.

A fraud alert requires a credit bureau representative to contact you via phone and verify that you are requesting credit in your name.  The representative on the phone will ask you some information that only you should know to authorize the issuance of credit in your name.  However, a lendor can ignore the fraud alert if they so choose.  There is also an Active Duty Alert good for one year available for members of the Armed Forces.

Experian
https://www.experian.com/consumer/cac/InvalidateSession.do?code=SECURITYALERT

TransUnion
http://www.transunion.com/corporate/personal/fraudIdentityTheft/preventing/fraudAlert.page

Call 888-909-8872 if you wish to add a Security Freeze to your credit report via telephone.

Equifax
http://www.equifax.com/answers/set-fraud-alerts/en_cp
http://www.equifax.com/cs/Satellite?c=EFX_ContentRoot&cid=1165203975981&pagename=5-1%2F5-1_Layout  (for the Equifax freeze)

Equifax will also let you place an Active Duty Alert good for one year available for members of the Armed Forces.
How ironic!  If you want a credit bureau to place a freeze on your credit information, you have to mail them all sorts of paperwork to prove that you are who you say you are.  If only the banks and credit card issuers required the same burden!  A letter to the credit bureaus with these items:

Name
Address
Date of Birth
Social Security Number
Proof of current address such as a current utility bill
If you’re a victim of identity theft, you’ll need to provide a copy of the police report too.

Equifax will give you a 10-digit “security freeze confirmation number”.

Stacy Johnson, the host of “Money Talks” has a video about credit freezes hosted on Youtube titled: “Easier Credit Freezes”.  In the video I do laugh at the mouthpiece for the American Bankers Association, Wayne Abernathy, who laments that “It’s in essence gumming up the works, and frankly the trend of financial service products over recent years is to have the financial service product ready when the customers ready”.  I tell you what Mr. Abernathy.  Please post your full name, drivers license number, Social Security Number and any other Personally Identifiable Information on this blog, get your identity stolen for financial fraud, then we’ll talk about gumming up the works.  Spoken confidently like a man who has never had his identity stolen.  The banks you represent caused me and many identity theft victims great duress because they didn’t validate my identity when they loaned money and credit in my name to a perfect stranger.  If you visit the American Bankers Association website you’ll see their agitprop, “Founded in 1875 and now based in Washington, DC, the American Bankers Association represents banks of all sizes on issues of national importance for financial institutions and their customers. The ABA, on behalf of the more than two million men and women who work in the nation’s banks, brings together all categories of banking institutions to best represent the interests of this rapidly changing industry. Its membership — which includes community, regional and money center banks and holding companies, as well as savings associations, trust companies and savings banks — makes ABA the largest banking trade association in the country.”  Scroll down a bit and you’ll see “BankPac, the industry’s largest political action committee, collects personal contributions from individual bankers, bank-sponsored PACS, affiliated state bankers association PACS, state association executives, and ABA staff. These contributions support candidates seeking election or reelection to the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives. For more information contact Stephen Crochet at scrochet@aba.com or 1-800-BANKERS.”  

If Mr. Abernathy speaks for the American Bankers Association, I can see why the banks can’t be bothered validating and verifying your identity in an economy of credit cards issuers that give borrowers “instant approval” and “you’re approved” credit.  No credit cards should be issued or activated until a more comprehensive validation of your identity and validation of the request for credit can be verified.  All credit information should be locked down by default and unlocked only if the consumer accepts the risk.