Get The Best Credit Card For You

Contrary to popular belief most identity theft fraud does NOT originate from the internet. Less than 10% originates from the internet. In most cases the crime is perpetrated by a neighbor, friend, coworker or employee of a financial institution. Also most “breaches” of consumer identity and credit are detected by the consumer. So much for those expensive “credit monitoring” services or even worse “identity theft insurance” that only helps the consumer after the breach happened. SO how do you really stop this from happening to you?

Of course you already know that you should never keep your social security card in your wallet or purse, you never keep your PIN number with your credit or debit cards, and lock away your records as well as shredd old statements etc. You need much more than this to really effectively stop identity theft.

A Secure Approach

If the following approach seems paranoid or drastic realize that we live in a day and age where privacy is dead. Your personal data is everywhere and it’s up for sale. Your name, address, phone number, SSN, and your mother’s maiden name can be obtained by ANYONE for a fee. Every good stalker knows this.

Consider that there are two types of identity theft: 1.) Basic Identity Theft and 2.) Credit Hijacking. “Basic Identity Theft” is when your identity is stolen and the criminal uses it to obtain NEW credit accounts for their personal gain. “Credit Hijacking” is where the criminal uses your stolen identity to access your CURRENT credit accounts. You need a plan of attack that stops both types of identity theft.

BASIC ID THEFT DEFENSE: The best defense here is to place an “Initial Fraud Alert” with all three of the credit bureaus. The “Initial Fraud Alert” accomplishes three important things:
1.) Your name and personal information can no longer be sold by the credit bureaus to ANY third parties for marketing and solicitation purposes(so no more credit card junk mail, loan offers, credit prescreenings etc.)
2.) No one can be approved for credit with your personal information until the creditor personally calls you at the phone number you have listed on your personal credit report.
3.) The initial fraud alert gives you a free credit report from each of the three credit reporting agencies. Please note that the “Initial Fraud Alert” only lasts 90 days. You have to write to each of the major credit bureaus at the address provided within your confirmation letter sent to you after you establish the initial fraud alert. The credit bureaus, of course, are making a stink about this since they make a lot of money from selling your personal credit information to third party marketers. It is ironic(and laughable) that the credit bureaus now will sell you “credit monitoring” services that will “stop” identity theft-theft that their loose security policies help create.

CREDIT HIJACKING DEFENSE

If you buy something online with your credit or debit card you may notice that you have to ship your purchase to the address listed as your main billing address on your account. This is the AVS system, or address verification system. If the address doesn’t match then the transaction is declined. So even if someone gets your card, your expiration date and your CVV code(the 3 digit code on the back of your card) the transaction will not be authorized unless the shipping address matches the address for your billing statement. So the identity thief gets around this by calling up the card company and they tell the bank(posing as you of course) that you are moving. As long as they have your personal info(last 4 digits of your SSN etc.) they simply change the address and then the charges go through. So they bypass the AVS security feature.

This can be easily defended against thankfully. The best defense against this is to establish a security code with your bank that goes beyond your SSN, mother’s maiden name, zipcode etc. It could be something like “Rufus1975″-a combination of your childhood dog’s name and the year you got him. Give this to every credit card provider you have. This is an extra layer of security that prevents anyone access to your accounts unless they know this code-which only you would know.

CONCLUSION

With the fraud alert established on your credit reports(which you will extend after the initial 90 days) as well as the personal security code set up with all of your bank and credit card accounts, you have made yourself virtually identity theft proof. And for free. Even if someone tries to hijack your credit by changing your address they will have to know your personal security code in addition to your SSN etc. which they will not know so they will be stopped in their tracks. If they try to open a new account anywhere in the country with your personal information the creditor will have to call YOU first at your phone number before it can be approved. Again, game over.

For more information on credit secrets and how to use credit to your advantage CLICK HERE