By Danny Arrington
Identity theft is nothing to joke about. And people who have gone through it know how tough it is in the days following. Credit repair is an absolute must. There are millions of unknowing victims around the world that are preyed upon by identity thieves all day, every day. Unless you have identity theft protection, and with the exception of prepaid credit card holders, no one who has a credit card, debit card, check card, or ATM card is safe. Your identity and your credit report are vulnerable.
Each week it seems like we are hearing of massive fraud being perpetrated against common people because of credit file security breaches. The only way to know if you were affected or not is to get a copy of your credit report and verify that all information contained in it is accurate. By law, all consumers are entitled to a free copy of their credit report every 12 months.
If you pull your credit report and find you were the victim of identity theft, you should take the following actions to begin credit repair:
Notify your bank and change your account numbers immediately.
Notify your credit card issuers immediately and get new account numbers.
Notify store credit card issuers immediately.
File a police report immediately. (This can be of great assistance to you as you communicate with banks and creditors in your dispute of withdrawals and charges. It is also a first step toward an investigation into the crime.)
Contact the 3 national credit reporting organizations immediately.
Equifax: 1-800-525-6285
Experian: 1-888-397-3742
Trans Union: 1-800-680 7289
Contact the social security administration fraud line immediately.
Social Security Administration (fraud line): 1-800-269-0271
If you pull your credit report and find you are one of the fortunate ones that has not been victimized by identity theft, you need to protect yourself for the future by taking the following actions:
Make photocopies of the front and back of all of the contents of your wallet (photo id, driver’s license, credit cards, debit cards, ATM cards, gift cards, etc.) and file the photocopy away in a safe place. This way, if you are victimized by identity theft, or even street theft, you will have quick access to all of your identification numbers, account numbers, and toll-free numbers needed to report the theft and close accounts. This will prove to be a big help if you ever need to begin credit repair due to theft.
Do not sign the back of your credit, debit, or check cards. Instead, write “Photo ID Required”. This way anyone who attempts to use your card in person will be prompted to show identification in order to complete a transaction.
If you pay your bills by check, do not put the complete account number in the memo field of the check. Instead, write “For the account ending in” and reference the last 4 digits. Your creditors know your account number.
Never have your personal phone number, social security number, or employer identification number printed on your checks. You can add any of this information by hand if needed, but if you have it printed, you make the information available to anyone who sees it. Anyone who sees it, can steal it.
Get identity theft protection. Services like this prevent thefts from ever occurring in the first place. You can lock your identity and get a fraud alert put on your name. These services come with great benefits. For example, if someone tries to open an account in your name, creditors would be required to contact you by phone before authorizing the new account. It stops identity thieves dead in their tracks, prevents damage to your credit report, and many times lead to arrests. Having identity theft protection is much easier than having to go through the process of bad credit repair due to identity theft.
Share this information with those you care about. Remember, you are entitled to a free one every 12 months by law. You or someone you know may be in need of credit repair, and not even know it. Identity theft can happen to anyone. Help is available. A proactive stance is the best defense.
Danny Arrington
Every Tuesday and Thursday at 1pm eastern, Danny Arrington does a LIVE broadcast and gives out the secrets to taking back your credit score and taking back your life! Credit Repair TV LIVE!
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=fec3c707-bc16-4f79-bb3e-ddd9a29dc424)
Tags: Credit card, Credit history, Identity theft, Social Security number, Theft
