ID Theft: It's Only a Matter of Time

An article at Money notes that "the odds are increasing that [ID theft] could hit you." Here are the stats:

• The personal data of nearly 50 million Americans have been exposed this year.
• As many as one in six people are now vulnerable to identity theft.

And it's time to face the music:

"It's time for all of us to concede that our data ultimately cannot be defended -- which is why it's only a matter of time before your identity is compromised in some way, big or small."

What's the solution? Money says:

"The solution doesn't lie in better corporate security or more vigilant card issuers, although those would help. It's in making sure that if your data does go missing, it can't be used against you. You should have the simple right to request a credit freeze, which stops anyone from looking at your credit report, making it next to impossible for a thief to open a fraudulent account."

But will this happen? Not likely:

"Congress has been pounding tables to look responsive but to date has shown little appetite for giving you that ultimate protection: a credit freeze any time you want one. This may have something to do with the fact that the financial services industry, which generally opposes freezes, ranks first in campaign contributions to House and Senate members."

So what can you do? Here are some simple steps to take:

• Get a free credit report -- As of Sept. 1, residents of all 50 states can get one free credit report a year from each of the three credit bureaus. Request one every four months, not all three at once, to create your own free credit monitoring service. Go to www.annualcreditreport.com.
• Guard your number -- When a business asks for your SSN, offer your driver's license number instead. If you carry a Medicare card, make a photocopy and black out all but the last four digits.
• Shred -- Invest in a crosscut shredder, making it harder for dumpster divers to put your records back together again.
• Bug Congress -- This may be one of those rare moments when voters could overpower lobbyists. www.Financialprivacynow.org has a sample e-mail you can send that demands more control over your own data. Your plan of attack couldn't be any easier.

Update: It's time to post to the Beltway Traffic Jam.

Comments

[Hazzard]

Great post!

I heard another idea that I really liked. You get one free credit report from each of the 3 bureaus each year. Get one from each every 4 months. This way you are always keeping an eye on your accounts and will spot any suspicious or incorrect items sooner than if you just checked it once per year.

Just a thought
Hazzard
http://elym.blogspot.com

[Alex Stenback]

You can also initiate a "fraud alert" with any/all of the three major credit repositories, which compels potential credit grantors to verify your ID before granting credit.

While stopping short of a freeze, this works pretty well. Public (but well hidden) numbers to initiate a fraud alert can be found here:
http://www.behindthemortgage.com/behind_the_mortgage/2005/03/friday_credit_h.html