Watch your credit - RV-Dreams Community Forum

jimdee · RV-Dreams Family Member

Watch your credit

wmalefyt · RV-Dreams Family Member

Dee,

Thanks for the "heads up" on this issue! I sure hope your identity theft doesn't cause you too many problems.

I just did some research and found that you have to send letters by certified mail to all 3 credit bureaus in order to request a security or credit freeze. In many cases there is a charge of $10.00 per request. However, some states like Florida waive this charge for seniors aged 65 or older and for victims of identity theft.

Here's a link:

http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Banking/FinancialPrivacy/LockAwayYourCreditFromIDThieves.aspx

This has been a concern of mine so I think your wake up call will finally force me into action to have our credit files frozen.

Thanks again and good luck with your problems.

Bill

RVDude · RV-Dreams Family Member

Very sorry to read of your situation and very sad as someone on this forum...

Two thoughts - and what I do.

1) Each of the three credit agencies gives a freebie report once a year. I play all three agencies and get a report every 4 months by rotating the agency. Use something like www.freecreditreport.com or any of the other freebie report providers. All you have to deal with in these freebie sites is to deny the extra cost monitoring services they offer and just get the report. Read it over for any strange activity.

2) You can buy identity theft insurance as a rider to various other insurance policies. Costs about $30/year. From my perspective the main protection is the services they provide to shutting down further losses and re-establishing your identity. I suspect going alone on either of these endeavors is a significant challenge for which any help would be welcome. They will also cover some losses too.

I hope you are able to rectify the situation in due time. I know it is a long and arduous process.

jimdee · RV-Dreams Family Member

Yes, there is a fee of $10, but that's better then the thousands that you may have to pay or to drop without the protection.

Dee

FD5 · RV-Dreams Family Member

No credit card info needed for credit report at www.annualcreditreport.com you get 1 free report annually from each of the 3 reporting agencies. freecreditreport.com requires credit card number if I am not mistaken.

NavyMom · RV-Dreams Community Member

We subscribed to Lifelock after discovering a new credit card account on our online banking page...we got it closed out before any charges were made...it was attached to an address we had not used in about 5 years....Lifelock charges us $8 a month per person and continually places fraud alerts on our credit reports...no credit can be issued in our names without personally contacting us by phone...this may be a help to those who like us are not too savvy on this type of thing....the website is lifelock.com and the code for a $2 deduction a month is "Montel":)

Donna162 · RV-Dreams Family Member

Just my "two cents", I also used Lifelock for a time. It was a great service, easy to use. They do all the work for you....put the alerts on the three credit bureaus, request your free credit reports for you, and if something happens, they help straighten it out for you. I just decided that it was probably too much money; that I could probably do it myself. I cancelled and haven't done anything since. And, it's about time to get a copy of my reports again. I have to say that it was more convenient to have the service!!!

foxriverguy · RV-Dreams Family Member

I use Trusted ID. Love it. Get free credit reports. But be aware that if you go to make a purchase involving having your credit checked, the transaction will not go forward until the company handling the loan actually speaks to you. This IS what you want. It is a minor inconvenience for the protection you gain. I pay $96 per year.

TheBobGuy · RV-Dreams Family Member

Hi Dee and I'm sure sorry to hear about your issue. Thanks for the heads up reminder! We tend to get lax about such things and it's good to get a reality check!
Our daughter had her wallet stolen in Northern VA several years ago and subsequently her SSN and identity...what a nightmare she went through and even today she has to monitor "issues" that crop up. No one wants to endure it!
Good luck getting everything sorted out!
M&B

ahoweth · RV-Dreams Family Member

Hay, Guys, I get the message. I signed up with LifeLock. It cost a couple of hundred for the wife and I for a year but I slept a little sounder afterwards.

Thanks for jolting me out of complacency before something bad happens. I think it is a small price to pay for the security.

JMO

Froggi · RV-Dreams Family Member

Little late for the Howeths, but for anyone else considering signing up you can get a NICE discount using the promotion code of MONTEL. Montel Williams is a strong promoter of LifeLock and I just signed up using this code..dropped the price to $88.00 annually.

Yes, reading this thread and one somewhere else convinced me to finally do this. I recently cancelled a bunch of credit cards and signed up for two new cash back credit cards. Figured this was a good time to sign up for the ID theft. I don't have much in assets but need to protect what I do have!

Travelin Duo · RV-Dreams Family Member

We both are with LifeLock now, and got the $88.00 per person rate thanks to Donna.
We've been meaning to do this, but after reading this thread we finally did it.
Thanks all.
Larry & Arlene

Tim & Robyn · RV-Dreams Family Member

I just saw this on the CNN website:

http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/05/22/lifelock.flap.ap/index.html

FD5 · RV-Dreams Family Member

For ID theft, Dave Ramsey endorses

http://www.zanderins.com/idtheft/idtheft.aspx

Individual Plan	$72.00 annually or $6.50 per month
Family Plan	$140.00 annually or $12.50 per month

-- Edited by FD5 at 11:36, 2008-05-22

-- Edited by FD5 at 11:37, 2008-05-22

Luvglass · RV-Dreams Family Member

There's an interesting article in todays New York Times on this subject and Lifelock in particular.

See
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/24/business/yourmoney/24money.html?_r=1&8mon&emc=yma1&oref=slogin

Fred

pierreandcolleen · RV-Dreams Family Member

Fred,
Thanks for the article link. I was debating whether to sign up. After reading that article I've decided I'd rather put my money into something else. Many of the things the company does, we can do ourselves. Their million dollar guarantee leaves much to be desired.
-C

Howard · Host

Well, after Tim & Robyn's link, I was going to put my own fraud alerts on with the credit reporting agencies.

After Fred's link, I think I'll just "freeze" our credit with all three companies.

The fees to voluntarily freeze your credit are based on your state of residency.

For our residence state of Kentucky it's free to freeze our credit, free to temporarily lift the freeze, and free to permanently remove the freeze.

For other states the fees range from $0 to $10 for each of those three services. Depending on your state, it could cost up to $30 to freeze your credit with all three credit reporting agencies (TransUnion, Equifax, & Experian) and up to $30 to unfreeze (each time if you do several "thaws").

Whatever you do, please use https://www.annualcreditreport.com (not the others, IMO) to get your free credit reports and check them thoroughly. You are entitled to one report from EACH credit reporting agency every twelve months.

My suggesion (like RVDude said) is to set up a schedule to get one every four months rather than three all at once. For example, get one from TransUnion every January, one from Equifax every May, and one from Experian every September.

That way, it is absolutely free, you never go longer than four months without looking at your credit, and you are dealing with the OFFICIAL site authorized and sponsored by the credit reporting agencies (see below).

AnnualCreditReport.com is a centralized service for consumers to request free annual credit reports. It was created by the three nationwide consumer credit reporting companies - Equifax, Experian and TransUnion.

AnnualCreditReport.com provides consumers with the secure means to request and obtain a free credit report once every 12 months from each of the three nationwide consumer credit reporting companies in accordance with the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACT Act).

AnnualCreditReport.com offers consumers a fast and convenient way to request, view and print their credit reports in a secure Internet environment. We also provide options to request reports by telephone and by mail.

AnnualCreditReport.com is the only (emphasis added) service authorized by Equifax, Experian and TransUnion for this purpose. The three nationwide consumer credit reporting companies have always encouraged consumers to regularly review their credit reports.

Please note that, as a security precaution,

Consumers should never provide their personal information to any other company or person for requesting free annual credit reports under the FACT Act.
AnnualCreditReport.com will not approach consumers via email, telemarketing or direct mail solicitations.

ahoweth · RV-Dreams Family Member

Thank You all for your inputs and especially you, Howard. I have signed up with Lifelock but I won't do it for a second time. While I don't feel that there was any harm in doing so and they provide other services than simply putting an alert on you credit with the big three, it still cost money I really didn't need to spend.

A lawyers take on matters such as these is quite comforting. I know it is an opinion, still an opinion from a lawyers point of view is enlightening!

Froggi · RV-Dreams Family Member

I agree with the Howeths.....I won't renew LifeLock again. Thank you to everyone who has contributed to this discussion!

foxriverguy · RV-Dreams Family Member

It will cost me about $45 to cancel my trusted ID policy (I qill get $45 back), but as a senior in Illinois I can get the same service for free. Thank you, RV-Dreams biggrin

-- Edited by foxriverguy at 15:43, 2008-06-09