Credit freezes: your best identity theft protection
Countless companies are hawking ways to keep your identity safe from fraud. But Julia Scott shows you why the best — and perhaps the cheapest — way to protect yourself is a credit freeze and how you can arrange one.
TRANSCRIPT
What’s the best way to prevent credit card fraud? It’s not what you think
Forget hours of shredding mountains of paper and fears about mailing letters from your – gasp – mailbox.
So what’s my secret?
FREEZE YOUR CREDIT!
Not literally, silly. What I mean is, contact the three major credit card bureaus.
Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax.
You can put a freeze on your credit online, over the phone, or by snail mail. It’s super easy.
And it only costs $3-$12, depending on what state you live in. That’s a lot cheaper than monthly credit monitoring, which can be up to $25 PER MONTH.
Hmm, run that by me again.
Now, if you’ve had your id stolen, chances are freezeing your credit is FREE
So what’s so great about this? When you freeze your credit, the three bureaus can’t legally release your information to ANYONE without express authorization.
So scammers that try to open credit or take out a loan in your name? Blam! No dice.
Just remember to put the freeze on at all THREE bureaus, or thieves could find a loophole.
Of course, if you’re about to take out a car loan or mortgage, you’ll need to unfreeze your credit.
For CreditCards.com, I’m Julia Scott
Duration : 0:1:39
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Deter – Detect – Defend Against Identity Theft
In the course of a busy day, you may write a check at the grocery store, charge tickets to a ball game, rent a car, mail your tax returns, change service providers for your cell phone, or apply for a credit card. Chances are you don’t give these everyday transactions a second thought. But an identity thief does.
Identity theft is a serious crime. People whose identities have been stolen can spend months or years and thousands of dollars cleaning up the mess the thieves have made of a good name and credit record. In the meantime, victims of identity theft may lose job opportunities, be refused loans for education, housing, or cars, and even get arrested for crimes they didn’t commit. Humiliation, anger, and frustration are among the feelings victims experience as they navigate the process of rescuing their identity.
Working with other government agencies and organizations, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has produced this booklet to help you remedy the effects of an identity theft. It describes what steps to take, your legal rights, how to handle specific problems you may encounter on the way to clearing your name, and what to watch for in the future.
Duration : 0:9:59
New ID Theft Law Protects SC Consumers – What you need to know!
Identity theft is this nations fastest growing crime. The recently passed Financial Identity Fraud and Identity Theft Protection Act (FIFITPA) aims to fight this problem. The Act provides several protections for consumers in the areas of security freezes, credit reports, records disposal, security breaches and more. Here is a quick look at some of the new measures in the law. A complete version of the law, as well as more information about FIFITPA, can be viewed by visiting the South Carolina Department of Consumer Affairs (SCDCA) website at www.scconsumer.gov.
Duration : 0:3:21