Each year millions of consumers apply for some form of credit. In each case your social security number, name or address is requested to gain access to your credit reporting files prior to making a decision to grant you credit. With so much usage of your social security number, name and address fraudulent activities are almost certain to occur. Many different kinds of credit scams, schemes and frauds exist today.
Credit frauds and
cyber thieves can actually get your personal information from almost anywhere legally and illegally. Obtaining your name, address or social security number can range from the very complex, sophisticated minds of computer hackers to companies selling mailing lists to the telephone book or just people who simply sift through your trash and garbage.
With so much hi-tech information available a person could acquire more than enough personal data to commit any credit crime. In today's information-based age you might not be able to stop your social security number, name or address from being circulated but you certainly can PREVENT THE INFORMATION FROM BEING USED AGAINST YOU.
Once your name, address or social security number has been accessed there are two major credit crimes sweeping the nation.
Stop credit Id theft true name fraud prevent it check your credit report.
CREDIT FILE THEFT or ID THEFT
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The first form, credit file theft, plays off the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). This Act requires by law that a creditor who has denied you credit, disclose whether it based its decision to decline you on information obtained in whole or in part from a credit bureau. If so the creditor must furnish the name and address of the credit reporting agency. Then, the credit bureau agency that reported the information to the creditor must send, upon request, the person that applied and was declined a copy of their credit report file. This is where the fraud takes place, if a perpetrator has applied for credit using someone else's personal information the thief then would be entitled to write the credit agency and request a copy of the victim's credit bureau report. Once the perpetrator has the credit bureau report in hand the number of schemes are endless.
ACCOUNT TAKEOVER or TRUE-NAME FRAUD
The second form of credit fraud sweeping the country is account takeover. As the name suggests, account takeover involves the thief actually taking on the identity of the legitimate consumers. Again, with any number of ways to acquire your personal data scam artists can easily take on your identity. Account takeover, also known as true-name fraud, begins when the perpetrator contacts the company or companies you have existing credit with to report address changes for valid consumers. The companies then change the address as instructed because the criminal has enough information to get through verification screening. At this point the perpetrator can increase credit limits, ask for additional loan amounts, request for PIN reissue or issuance, delete joint or secondary persons on the accounts or change phone numbers. The true consumer is not aware of what has occurred until they stop receiving statements, by this time 30-45 days has past. Certainly, the criminal has had more than enough time to overcharge credit lines and destroy your good credit standing.
The focus of the consumer should be on prevention and protection. Certainly there are laws in place to limit your exposure to credit card fraud to a specific dollar amount($50). $50 for each card is your total liability if fraud is suspected. BUT the trouble arise when you attempt to clean up the fraud and make your good credit whole again.
The aftermath of Identity Theft and Account Takeover is devastating. The
mountain of paperwork from just writing letters to the credit bureaus. The
turndowns from creditors because the information still shows on your credit
reports even after the credit bureaus said it was cleared. The consumers are
left trying to clear up this terrible situation while the credit industry
looks at it as a part of doing business and writes it off as such. Consumers
are targeted more today than ever before, once it was the large corporations
targeted but the corporations could absorb the hits. The consumer is footing
the bill now in more ways than one. Consumer credit fraud is a multi-million
dollar industry and annually over 500,000 people have to suffer through this
horrible crime.
Stop credit Id theft true name fraud prevent
it check your credit report.
YOU CAN PREVENT AND PROTECT YOUR CREDIT BUREAU FILES AND YOUR EXISTING CREDIT ACCOUNTS FROM ALL FRAUD. E-Mail
US NOW! TO FIND OUT HOW FOR FREE!!!
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CreditFraud@DriveinPeace.com
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