Consumers are getting new weapons in the war against identity theft, a crime that could stop your mortgage application cold.
You don't actually lose your identity and wander aimlessly like a John or Jane Doe after your identity is "stolen".
Identify theft or identity fraud is committed by private information thieves who steal your personal identifying information -- Social Security number, date of birth, mother's maiden name, etc.-- and then use that information to access existing credit and financial accounts and to open new accounts for fraudulent use.
The latest addition to the growing arsenal aimed at the scourge is a single phone call -- you need call only one of the three major credit reporting agencies to notify all three that your identity has been stolen or that you suspect it has been stolen or tampered with.
The new service joins identity theft insurance and the Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) ID Theft Affidavit, as weapons against identity fraud.
That's good news. ID theft is growing.
The actual number of ID fraud victims is unknown because there is no single hot line or database that captures all reports of ID fraud, according to a U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO) report "Identity Theft: Prevalence and Cost Appear to be Growing," released in March last year.
But the FTC says ID fraud was its No. 1 fraud complaint last year, accounting for 43 percent of the complaints lodged with the FTC's Consumer Sentinel database -- 220,000 in 2001 to 380,000 in 2002.
The GAO also says the increase in ID fraud incidents reported to credit agencies ranged from 36 percent to 53 percent over a recent two-year period.
"Although not specifically or comprehensively quantifiable, the prevalence and cost of identity theft seem to be increasing, according to the available data we reviewed and many officials of the public and private sector entities we contacted," the GAO reported.
To help protect yourself, if you know or suspect someone is stealing your identity, call one of three major credit agencies.
Within 24 hours of the call to any one agency that credit agency will electronically notify the other two and a "fraud alert" will be placed on your account at each agency. You will be opted out of all pre-approved credit offers and insurance for two years. Your request for a copy of your credit report will be handled in no more than three business days. All three credit agencies will begin to work with you to verify information and delete any fraudulent data, a process that is hastened if you file a police report.
With a documented "fraud alert" placed on your credit reports, creditors are less likely to advance credit to existing accounts or to open new ones.
The "fraud alert" lets Consumer Data Industry Association (CDIA) members aware there's a problem, but the service isn't foolproof.
Founded in 1906, the CDIA is the international trade association that represents more than 400 consumer data companies, including the nation's leading institutions in credit reporting, mortgage reporting, check verification, fraud prevention, risk management, employment reporting, tenant screening and collection services.
But CDIA members and creditors are not mandated to check your credit report or to even refuse credit to someone masquerading as you if the creditor doesn't bother to look at your report during a transaction and isn't aware of the alert.
Also, ID theft insurance, which is free with some credit cards, pays for some, but not all, financial losses associated with ID fraud.
The FTC affidavit is a single form used to alert companies where a new account was opened in your name to allow them to investigate the fraud and decide the outcome of your claim.
The new services don't appear to be sufficient to remove concerns about ID theft.
Nine out of 10 American home owners remain concerned about becoming victims of identity theft and an overwhelming 83 percent think the government should take more steps to help prevent identity theft, according to a national survey of 1,129 homeowners conducted by Harris Interactive for Fireman's Fund Insurance Company.
The survey was conducted to explore homeowners' understanding of the protection provided, or not, by their insurance policies for identity theft and other losses.
For still more information and additional weapons to fight ID fraud, examine the following information sources:
Published: May 16, 2003
Pinnacle Real Estate Services, LLC a Mississippi
Corporation