Monday, February 4, 2019

CONSIDER A PERSONAL CREDIT FREEZE

AN EFFECTIVE WEAPON IN THE BATTLE AGAINST IDENTITY THEFT

Identity theft continues to stay at the top of the list of cybercrimes. Using stolen or fabricated personal information, criminals thrive on online credit card fraud, either by obtaining new credit cards using your stolen personal data or by making purchases on an existing account that has been hacked. And just below identity theft on the list of cybercrimes is income tax refund theft, accomplished by filing a bogus return using personal data obtained illegally, as well as efforts to raid bank accounts using stolen information.

Several cybercrime experts suggest that anyone who is active online should consider that his or her personal information has been compromised and is available for sale to criminals. Mind-boggling, isn’t it?

What is a credit freeze? Implemented through the three major credit reporting agencies listed below, you can lock (freeze) your credit reports so none can be obtained or changed for any reason, even by you, as long as the freeze is in place. The consumer is given a PIN (Personal Identification Number) that allows control of the freezing and thawing of credit information.

A new federal law effective in September 2018 allows people to lock/freeze their credit free of cost. Requests made by telephone or online to freeze credit information must be addressed within one day of receipt. Requests made by mail must be fulfilled within three days of receipt by the credit reporting agency. The law further stipulates that a thaw or lifting of the freeze must be completed within an hour if received online or by phone, and within three days if the request is mailed.

Information about the freezing process can be found at these websites, and is also available by telephone:
Equifax: equifax.com/personal/credit-report-services or 800-349-9960
Experian: experian.com/freeze/center.html or 888-397-3742
TransUnion: transunion.com/credit-freeze or 888-909-8872

And be sure to check out our Free Resources for Your Practice for additional insights, information, and practice management tips.

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