Are your identity secured and credit monitored?

 Do you have an email account, have you ever had credit card, do you use a smart phone, do you have any bill…? And yes, most people do. These are the few common things that everyone does on a daily basis or will soon be doing in one way or another as long as we increase the need for technology use. The good thing is that society seems to be happier with them than without them. Unfortunately, the bad news is that the increased use of these items has made societies more vulnerable identity theft.

Have you ever received a credit card application, flyers or free magazine subscriptions with your correct name and address on it and wondered how and where these companies got hold of your information? Well, all of your information is out there – it is just matter of knowing who is using it and how that information is being used.
So, the question is what should you do if your identity is stolen?

Hopefully, you have had the knowledge of the transaction within days to actively active act on it. This usually happens when you monitor your bank online, have a third party that monitor your credit report… However, if you have been a subject of identity theft and do not practice the above prerequisites, you will have to be prompted to act on it. Regardless, some of the few steps that can be taken as recommended by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Identity Theft website are as simple as filing a police report, checking your credit report, notifying your creditors, contacting the FTC, and disputing any unauthorized transactions that may have been posted to your financial institutions. However, if you monitor your identity actively with a third party institution where employees are paid to do just that, the likelihood of you being informed within hours or days of any changes that occur in your credit report or an event of identity theft is very high compared to having knowledge of the occurrence months after the theft has occurred.

A new Federal law has given you the right to receive a free copy of your credit report once every 12 months from each of the three nationwide credit reporting companies. To do so, you must go to www.annualcreditreport.com. That’s once a year and you’re not a once a potential victim. You may elect to wait that one time a year to monitor your credit or you can do it regularly yourself or have a third party institution to monitor it for you. After all, it’s your identity and credit.

Doing it yourself:

1 - PROS
* Free
* Pay only when needed
* Best if nothing to worry about

2 - CONS
* No monthly credit or fraud alerts – only once a year if you remember to request it
* No identity theft insurance
* Pay extra to get extra (To receive additional credit reports…)
* Best if you worry about your identity and credit report

Hiring an institution:

1 - PROS
* Receive credit and fraud alerts when there is a change in your record
* Most institutions offer free credit score
* Options to request security freeze
* Package often includes identity theft insurance
* May receive third party online security software or applications

2 - CONS
* Pay monthly fee

Published by http://www.mazandu.com/

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