Identity Theft: A Growing Problem

(This article appeared in the July/August 2006 issue of The American Postal Worker magazine.)

Joyce B. Robinson, Research & Education Department Director

When someone uses your name, address, Social Security number, bank or credit card account number, or other identifying information without your knowledge, it is called identity theft and incidences of fraud and other crimes related to it are on the rise.

Identity thieves use your credit- and debit-card account numbers to buy expensive items; open new accounts in your name and run up huge balances; change mailing addresses; and even to use your name during an arrest, using your stolen identity as documentation. Arrest warrants have been issued to people who did not realize that they had failed to show up for court dates.

Prevention and Protection

To help avoid becoming a victim, frequently monitor balances in your financial accounts and quickly resolve unexplained charges or withdrawals. You may also be a victim of identity theft if you: fail to receive bills or other mail; receive credit cards for which you did not apply; are denied credit for no apparent reason; or are contacted by debt collectors or businesses about merchandise or services you did not purchase. To protect yourself:

• Don’t give out your Social Security number or account numbers over the phone or on the Internet unless you know the information is secure; 
   
• Keep personal information out of view of visitors or workers in your home; 
   
• Do not keep your Social Security card or number in your purse or wallet; and 
   
• Cut up or shred medical bills, bank statements, checks, and pre-approved credit-card offers before throwing them away.

Your Legal Rights

Among the first things you should do if you are a victim of identity theft is to file a report with your local police department. This report will serve as back-up documentation for the credit bureaus and creditors.

The Fair Credit Reporting Act gives you specific rights when you believe that you are a victim of identity theft.

You have the right to:

• Ask that the three nationwide consumer-reporting agencies place “fraud alerts” in your file to let potential creditors and others know that you may be a victim. This tells creditors to follow certain procedures to protect you. (It also may delay your ability to obtain credit.) 
   
• Free copies of the information in your file. The initial fraud alert entitles you to a copy of all the information on file with each of the agencies, and an extended alert entitles you to two free file disclosures in the 12-month period following the initial alert. (An initial fraud alert stays in your file for at least 90 days; an extended one for seven years.) 
   
• Obtain copies of applications and other business records relating to fraudulent transactions made or accounts opened using your personal information. 
   
• Request the name of the creditor and the amount of the debt from collection agencies. 
   
• Ask a consumer reporting agency to block information from your file. You must identify the information to block, and provide the consumer reporting agency with a police report and proof of your identity. Once a debt resulting from identity theft has been blocked, a person or business with notice of the block may not sell, transfer, or place the debt for collection. And if the agency declines or rescinds the block, it must notify you. 
   
• Prevent businesses from reporting information resulting from your identity theft to consumer reporting agencies. To have this happen, you must send your request to the business that reported the information, identify what information you do not want reported, and provide a police report.

You can place a fraud alert in your file by contacting the three nationwide agencies:

Equifax (800-525-6285; www.equifax.com)

Experian (888-397-3742; www.experian.com) and 

Trans Union (800-680-7289; www.transunion.com).