Nov
5
Real Protection From Identity Thieves
November 5, 2007 | 3 Comments
You won’t likely see this in the mainstream press, nor will anyone call to help you or when you call they won’t likely tell you about this.
As of October 31, 2007 all three major credit bureaus must offer credit freezes, but you have to ask and complete the steps. The freeze electronically padlocks your credit report. No one can review your credit report until you remove the padlock.
It might even close up some of that troublesome marketing that relies on good credit for sending and calling to sell you stuff. It looks like an all ‘round winner for people. On the other hand the credit sales and related products folks aren’t happy at all.
This means a thief trying to get credit or make a purchase in your name likely won’t, as a seller won’t be pulling your credit report. The source of the confidence to extend the credit is closed at the source.
Now for the hurdles to protect yourself – is not automatic (Horrors! to credit card companies) and its not free, even if it should be.
To freeze your credit file, send a letter instruction via certified mail to:
Experian Security Freeze, P.O. Box 9554, Allen, TX 75013
Equifax Security Freeze, P.O. Box 105788, Atlanta, GA 30348
Trans Union Consumer Protection Center, P.O Box 6790, Fullerton CA 92634
The instruction must contain your full name, middle initial, and generation like Jr., Sr., etc, your date of birth, current address, and the previous addresses for the past two years.
You’ll need to enclose a copies of a government issued ID, a utility bill or bank statement with your name on it and your Social Security Number – and the $10.00 US fee by check or money order for each bureau.
Each credit bureau will send back a letter confirming the credit report freeze. It will contain a PIN code that you’ll need to “unfreeze” the account when you are applying for credit. But “unfreezing” costs another $10.00 per bureau.
The PIN is important if you lose it, unfreezing could take as long as 10 days, while using the PIN is alleged to need only minutes or hours. But even then waiting some part of the 10 days will give a person the chance to reflect on a major purchase.
Just be sure you find out just which bureau will be hit when you’re going to apply so you’re not faced with $30 when $10 will do. Remember to freeze it back when finished.
This post is an adaptation from a newsletter written by Mark Nestmann that are sent to me by the Sovereign Society Ltd. Permission granted by Bob Bauman, Legal Council –(c) 2007 Sovereign Offshore Services LLC. All Rights Reserved. http://www.sovereignsociety.com/
OK – Its not about energy and fuel, but the information isn’t getting out. So please pass this on to those you care about.
Many thanks to Mark Nestmann for writing about it and getting it to me.
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[…] Brian Westenhaus placed an observative post today on Real Protection From Identity Thieves.Here’s a quick excerpt:As of October 31, 2007 all three major credit bureaus must offer credit freezes, but you have to ask and complete the steps. The freeze electronically padlocks your credit report. No one can review your credit report until you remove … […]
What a great resource!
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