Friday, November 9, 2007

Financial Preparedness: Preventing and Addressing Identity Theft

Identity theft is one of the fastest growing crimes in America. When a dishonest person has your Social Security number, the thief can use it to get other personal information about you. Most of the time, identity thieves use your number and good credit to apply for more credit in your name. Then they use the credit cards and do not pay the bills. You don't find out that someone is using your credit until you are turned down for credit or you begin to get calls from unknown creditors demanding payment for items you never bought. Here are some tips to prevent identity theft.


Your number is confidential

You should be careful about sharing your social security number with anyone who asks for it (even when you are provided with a benefit or service.)

Don't make it easy for someone to steal your number

Identity thieves get your personal information by:
  • Stealing wallets, purses and your mail (bank & credit card statements, pre-approved credit offers, telephone calling cards & tax information)
  • Stealing personal information you provide to an unsecured site on the Internet, from business or personnel records at work and personal information in your home
  • Sorting through trash for personal data
  • Posing as someone who legitimately needs information about you, such as employers or landlords
  • Buying personal information from "inside" sources. For example, an identity thief may pay a store employee for information about you that appears on an application for goods, services or credit.

Be careful with your Social Security card and number to prevent theft

Show your card to your employer when you start a job so your records are correct. Then, put it in a safe place. DO NOT carry your card with you.

How can I report that someone is using my Social Security number?

You should file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission by:

If you think someone is using your number for work purposes, you should contact Social Security. One way to find out whether someone is using your number in order to work is to check your Social Security Statement. This statement lists earnings posted to your Social Security record. If you find an error on your Statement, contact Social Security immediately.

What if I think someone is using my number and creating credit problems for me?

If someone used your social security number to get credit, Social Security cannot fix your credit record. To fix your credit record:

  • Call the creditors who approved the credit (follow up with a letter.)
  • File a police report.
  • Contact the fraud department of the major credit bureaus. Ask: 1. To have a flag placed on your record, requiring creditors to contact you before approving additional credit using your name and number. 2. How long your account will be flagged and how you can extend the flag, if necessary. 3. To have a statement added to your credit report--include your name, explain the problem and provide a telephone number where someone can call you.

Obtain a copy of your Credit Report

Request a copy of your credit report from each major credit bureau and check to see if it contains any entries you do not know about. If you are denied credit, you may be entitled to a free copy of your report.

The major credit reporting agencies are:

Equifax

  • http://www.equifax.com/
  • Report fraud: 1-800-525-6285,
  • Order credit report: 1-800-685-1111.
  • PO BOX 740241, Atlanta GA 30375-0241

Experian

TransUnion

  • http://www.transunion.com/
  • Report fraud: 1-800-680-7289
  • Order credit report: 1-800-916-8800
  • Fraud Victim Assistance Dept. PO BOX 6790, Fullerton, CA 92834

Getting a New Social Security Number

If you have done all you can to fix the problem and someone is still using your number, Social Security may assign you a new number. They can help you complete an application but cannot guarantee that a new number will solve your problem.

You cannot get a new Social Security number if:

  • You filed for bankruptcy
  • You intent to avoid the law or your legal responsibility
  • Your social security card is lost or stolen, but there is no evidence that someone is using your number.

Contacting Social Security:

The social security website is a valuable resource for information about all Social Security programs. http://www.ssa.gov/

In addition to using the website, you can call toll-free 1-800-772-1213. Hours are 7 a.m. - 7 p.m. Monday through Friday. Information is also provided by automated phone service 24 hours a day.

Source: Social Security website: http://www.ssa.gov/pubs/10064.html/

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1 comment:

This Place is a Disaster! said...

Alstate Insurance Company offers "Ientity Theft Insurance" as a rider to exisiting Home and Renters Policies. This helps to cover the costs of attorneys, time off, and other needs in recovering your identity in the case of theft.

May 2, 2008 at 3:51 PM

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Preparedness Quotes

"When faced with the choice to buy, consume, or engage in worldly things and activities, we all need to learn to say to one another, 'We can’t afford it, even though we want it!' or 'We can afford it, but we don’t need it—and we really don’t even want it!'" - Elder Robert D. Hales, April 2009 General Conference

"Many areas of the world have experienced difficult economic times. Businesses have failed, jobs have been lost, and investments have been jeopardized. We must make certain that those for whom we share responsibility do not go hungry or unclothed or unsheltered. When the priesthood of this Church works together as one in meeting these vexing conditions, near miracles take place.

"We urge all Latter-day Saints to be prudent in their planning, to be conservative in their living, and to avoid excessive or unnecessary debt."
- President Thomas S. Monson, October 2008 Priesthood Session, General Conference

"Avoid the philosophy that yesterday's luxuries have become today's necessities. They aren't necessities until we make them so. Many enter into long-term debt only to find that changes occur; people become ill or incapacitated, companies fail or downsize, jobs are lost, natural disasters befall us. For many reasons, payments on large amounts of debt can no longer be made. Our debt becomes as a Damocles sword hanging over our heads and threatening to destroy us."
- President Thomas S. Monson, April 2006 General Conference

“We have built grain storage and storehouses and stocked them with the necessities of life in the event of a disaster. But the real storehouse is the family storeroom. In words of revelation the Lord has said, ‘Organize yourselves; prepare every needful thing’ (D&C 109:8.)”
President Gordon B. Hinckley

"We need to make both temporal and spiritual preparation for the events prophesied at the time of the Second Coming. And the preparation most likely to be neglected is the one less visible and more difficult--the spiritual. A 72-hour kit of temporal supplies may prove valuable for earthly challenges, but, as the foolish virgins learned to their sorrow, a 24-hour kit of spiritual preparation is of greater and more enduring value.

"We are living in the prophesied time 'when peace shall be taken from the earth' (D&C 1:35,) when 'all things shall be in commotion' and 'men's hearts shall fail them' (D&C 88:91.) There are many temporal causes of commotion, including wars and natural disasters, but an even greater cause of current 'commotion' is spiritual." Elder Dallin H. Oaks

“Every father and mother are the family’s store keepers. They should store whatever their family would like to have in case of an emergency…(and) God will sustain us through our trials.” President James E. Faust

“We live in a most exciting and challenging period in human history. As technology sweeps through every facet of our lives, changes are occurring so rapidly that it can be difficult for us to keep our lives in balance. To maintain some semblance of stability in our lives, it is essential that we plan for our future. I believe it is time, and perhaps with some urgency, to review the counsel we have received in dealing with our personal and family preparedness. We want to be found with oil in our lamps sufficient to endure to the end.”- Elder L. Tom Perry, Ensign, Nov. 1995

"Many more people could ride out the storm-tossed waves in their economic lives if they had their year's supply of food. . . and were debt-free. Today we find that many have followed this counsel in reverse: they have at least a year's supply of debt and are food free." President Thomas S. Monson

"Just as it is important to prepare ourselves spiritually, we must also prepare ourselves for our temporal needs. … We have been instructed for years to follow at least four requirements in preparing for that which is to come.

“First, gain an adequate education. Learn a trade or a profession to enable you to obtain steady employment that will provide remuneration sufficient to care for yourself and your family. …

“Second, live strictly within your income and save something for a rainy day. Incorporate in your lives the discipline of budgeting that which the Lord has blessed you with. As regularly as you pay your tithing, set aside an amount needed for future family requirements. …

“Third, avoid excessive debt. Necessary debt should be incurred only after careful, thoughtful prayer and after obtaining the best possible advice. We need the discipline to stay well within our ability to pay. …

“Fourth, acquire and store a reserve of food and supplies that will sustain life [if local laws permit such storage]. Obtain clothing and build a savings account on a sensible, well-planned basis that can serve well in times of emergency. As long as I can remember, we have been taught to prepare for the future and to obtain a year’s supply of necessities. I would guess that the years of plenty have almost universally caused us to set aside this counsel. I believe the time to disregard this counsel is over. With events in the world today, it must be considered with all seriousness.” - Elder L. Tom Perry, October 1995 General Conference

“Maintain a year's supply. The Lord has urged that his people save for the rainy days, prepare for the difficult times, and put away for emergencies, a year's supply or more of bare necessities so that when comes the flood, the earthquake, the famine, the hurricane, the storms of life, our families can be sustained through the dark days. How many of us have complied with this? We strive with the Lord, finding many excuses: We do not have room for storage. The food spoils. We do not have the funds to do it. We do not like these common foods. It is not needed -- there will always be someone to help in trouble. The government will come to the rescue. And some intend to obey but procrastinate.” - The Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball, p.375

“All too often a family's spending is governed more by their yearning than by their earning. They somehow believe that their life will be better if they surround themselves with an abundance of things. All too often all they are left with is avoidable anxiety and distress” - Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin

"Be prepared in all things against the day when tribulations and desolations are sent forth upon the wicked." D&C 29:8

"Too often we bask in our comfortable complacency and rationalize that the ravages of war, economic disaster, famine, and earthquake cannot happen here. Those who believe this are either not aquainted with the revelations of the Lord, or they do not believe them." President Ezra Taft Benson

"Fear not little flock; do good; let earth and hell combine against you, for if ye are built upon my rock, they cannot prevail. . .Look unto me in every thought; doubt not, fear not." D&C 6:34, 36

"I believe that the Ten Virgins represent the people of the Church of Jesus Christ. . . They (five foolish) had the saving, exalting gospel, but it had not been made the center of their lives. They knew the way but gave only a small measure of loyalty and devotion.

"The foolish asked the others to share their oil, but spiritual preparedness cannot be shared in an instant. . . . This was not selfishness or unkindness. The kind of oil that is needed to illuminate the way and light up the darkness is not shareable. . . . In our lives the oil of preparedness is accumulated drop by drop in righteous living." - President Spencer W. Kimball

“We encourage families to have on hand this year’s supply; we say it over and over and over and repeat over and over the scripture of the Lord where he says, “Why call ye me, Lord, Lord and do not the things which I say?” How empty it is as they put their spirituality, so-called, into action and call him by his important names, but fail to do the things which he says." - President Spencer W. Kimball


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