Filed under: Debt, Ripoffs and Scams, Fraud

Luckily this day it’s not hard to secure your credit information. As long as you’re not looking to take a loan any time soon, your first step should be to “freeze” your credit report. That way no one can open an account without getting permission from you to look at your credit history.

Once that’s in place, you’ll need to change some habits when handling key financial information. Here’s some easy steps you can take:

• Shred financial documents and paperwork that have any personal information before you throw them out. this includes all statements that have your account number or Social Security number on them. If you commonly write account numbers on checks when you pay bills, be sure to shred those too when you no longer need them.

• Safeguard your Social Security number at all times. Don’t carry your Social Security card regularly in your wallet or print it on your check. If a financial institution or medical insurance company, or anyone else for that matter, wants to use your Social Security number as part of an identification number, insist that they don’t.

• If you get unsolicited emails or emails that appear to be from your bank or a government agency, don’t ever click on the link. If you think it might be legitimate, go to the official website of the financial institution or other company and then order what you want or provide the financial information they’re requesting. People who phish for information commonly use this trick by sending what looks like an official email and linking to a website that collects your information for identity theft purposes.

• When you create passwords on the World wide web, don’t use information that a thief could easily find out about you, such as your birth date, your mother’s maiden name, your address, or the last four digits of your Social Security number. Develop a random series of numbers and letters instead.

• Always keep your personal information in a secure place in your home, especially if you have roommates or employ others who work in your home.

I can’t guarantee these steps will prevent all identity theft entirely, but they will certainly reduce your chances of being a victim.

Lita Epstein has written more than 20 books including the “Complete Idiot’s Guide to Improving Your Credit Score.”

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Filed under: Banks, Cards, Ripoffs and Scams, Charity, Fraud

The first call came from a man in Texas. He stated he received a cashier’s check from a bank in Alabama in exchange for $3,000 in baseball memorabilia he was selling on the internet. The package arrived by Federal Express and the shipping label listed my name, address and phone number. He called me because he was suspicious because my address is in Connecticut but the bank is in Alabama.

After the second of several similar calls, I figured out that someone had stolen my credit card and was shipping counterfeit checks all over the country using a Federal Express account opened in my name.

I had heard that identity theft, where someone gains access to personal information then uses it to open credit cards and take out loans in other people’s names, was rampant. I wasn’t sure if that’s what was happening to me, but I quickly learned to act on my suspicions. After some research, I realized I needed to make three critical calls, and fast:

• Contact the three credit bureaus: I immediately called my bank, and they contacted the three credit bureaus, Equifax, Experian and Transunion, which collect information about consumers’ credit activity. Citibank placed a fraud alert on my files with all three bureaus, which will monitor my credit reports for 90 days to make sure no one has tried to open accounts using my name.

• File a report with the police department. They will work with other police departments to try to track down the criminals.

• Notify the Federal Trade Commission. It enters the information into its identity theft data clearinghouse, and use it to help catch thieves. The information will also be also used for filing an identity theft report once I get the official police report and fill out some other paperwork the bank sent me.

In the next few days, I received two checks made out to other people but sent to my home address. I turned them over to the police. If I were to deposit the check and it bounced, my bank would mail it to the sender, who could try to access my bank account.

Of course, I called Federal Express and shut down the account early on. I also called my credit card company, and reviewed the charges to my credit card to see if there were any that my husband or I didn’t make. There were several, including a few to Federal Express, $600 in an online buy and a few to Craigslist.com. I filed a fraud report and put a block on the account.

A week later, there has been no activity reported, which means that most likely mine was a case of account takeover rather than true identity theft. All tolled, roughly $3,000 was charged in my name on my credit card or via Fed Ex. Fortunately, I’m not responsible for any of the expenses. One charge that was puzzling was three donations totaling $1,200 to CARE, the international relief bureau. When I spoke with a CARE representative, Debbie Varble, she said that it wasn’t unusual for thieves to do this on non-profit web sites. “We don’t sell anything and we don’t ship anything, she explained. “So thieves use non-profits as a testing ground to see how much they have the ability to charge.”

Read more about identity theft and steps you can take to prevent it here.

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Filed under: Ripoffs and Scams, Shopping, Fraud

Retail renting: for the uninitiated, this is the process of purchasing something with the intent of using for a short period of time and then returning it. Examples might include clothing or a big-screen Television for a Super Bowl party.

A piece in the Boston Globe recently looked at the issue — a form of “return fraud” — and problems its causing retailers. How can they crack down on people who abuse liberal return policies while still offering high-quality service to bona fide customers?

My thoughts on this are unambiguous: Purchasing something with the full intent of returning it is unethical and fraudulent. I can’t imagine any possibly moral/ethical justification for doing it. A poll on Consumerist shows that most people share this view, with 74% saying that retail renting is unethical.

But that still means 12% of people think that this form of theft is ethical — and another 13% aren’t sure. So I’ve to ask: What people ethical justification is there for buying something with the intent of returning it?

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Filed under: Debt, Ripoffs and Scams, Fraud

You may wonder how you can recognize whether or not you’re a victim of identify theft. Here are some red flags:

• Your credit cards or other bills don’t arrive when you anticipate them. A thief could have changed your address with a financial institution and started using your credit card. He’ll change the address so it will take longer for you to figure out the problem. Most financial institutions grant you to look at your accounts on the internet. Do so regularly to avoid this problem. If you see charges you don’t recognize call your bank’s customer service line immediately

• You start to receive credit cards for accounts you know you didn’t open yourself. Don’t hesitate one second. Call the financial institution that issued the card immediately.

• You are denied credit even though you know you’ve a good credit history. Whenever you’re denied credit for whatever reason you’re entitled to free duplicates of your credit reports from each of the three top credit reporting agencies — Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. As part of that denial, you should get a letter that tells you how to get those free credit reports. Take advantage of this law and review your credit report to see what the problem is. If you find fraudulent accounts on your report, follow the instructions on the report that explain how to deal with fraudulent accounts.

• You get a call from a store about a purchase you know you didn’t make. If you do get this type of call, don’t give out any information because the call could be a phishing attempt. But do find out as many details about the purchase as you can, as well as the caller’s name and contact information. Be sure you get the name of the company and then look up a contact number yourself. Call the company after you’ve checked it out. Only after you know the company is legitimate should you give out any personal information. Also, call your credit card company and let them know that your card was used fraudulently.

Any time you suspect fraud you should place a fraud alert at all three credit reporting agencies. They will place a 90-day fraud alert on your account, which can be extended. They’ll also send you a copy of your report to be sure there aren’t other problems. Here are the contact numbers to report fraud:

• Equifax - 1-800-525-6285

• Experian - 1-888-397-3742

• TransUnion - 1-800-680-7289

You can never err by being too cautious. It’s better to report a possible fraud attempt and be wrong, than not to report one and allow a problem to continue to grow and fester.

Lita Epstein has written more than 20 books including the “Complete Idiot’s Guide to Improving Your Credit Score.”

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Pay more or face a poorer old age - Scotland on Sunday

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