Identity Theft

YBPs, guard your credit with your life! Identity Theft is the fastest growing crime in America. According to a Federal Trade Commission survey, over 9.9 million victims were reported last year!

The best way to deal with the ID theft epidemic is to constantly check your credit reports to make sure there’s no sketchy data showing up; that’s a tipoff someone may have stolen your financial identifying info and is masquerading as you. Under Federal law, you have the right to receive a free copy of your credit report once every 12 months from each of the three nationwide consumer reporting companies (Experion, Equifax, and Transunion). To request your free annual report under that law, you must go to www.annualcreditreport.com. Don’t get all three at once; its smarter to get one report every four months. That way you’re consistently checking up on your record. There are many other websites that you can obtain your credit report from, but these sites usually charge a fee at some point. And of course, the credit bureaus themselves can provide you with your credit information.

On May 10, President Bush signed an Executive Order creating the nation’s first ever Identity Theft Task Force. The goals of the Task Force are to develop a strategic plan to better prevent identity theft, coordinate prosecution, and ensure recovery for victims.

To help prevent identity theft via the internet, remember to protect your passwords. Vary your passwords with a symbols or simple number combinations at the beginning and/or end. Adding a dollar sign and a number helps a lot! Also, keep your email passwords dissimilar to any other accounts with money (i.e. don’t make your email passwords similar to your bank or credit account passwords.)

If you suspect that your identity has been stolen, the FTC has information on the steps you should take. You can order publications or obtain the info online. Make sure you are informed and protect yourself, because this is a serious matter.