Free Identity Theft Protection
Identity Theft – Would it ever happen to me ?
Summary
ID theft can happen to anyone and it can have very serious consequences like ruining your credit history. If this happens You will simply struggle to get any financial products (mortgages, loans etc..). The most important and reliable precaution is to regularly check your credit report
Find out how you can protect yourself from ID fraud.
Detailed Version
- “During the Christmas season, Did you get an unexpected bill for 100s of pounds from a well known high street fashion retailer, for items you didn’t purchase ? ”
- “Have you used your credit card in a South London Petrol station for your purchases ?”
Well, thanks to both above events I managed to loose my identity not once but TWICE ! After I stopped panicking, I did some research about Identity Theft (and ID fraud) prevention, and successfully managed to do 4 very important things.
- Get all my money back about £300!
- Checked and Verified that my identity details have not been used to obtain more credit. (I simply didn’t feel like paying someone else’s Mortgage or Car loan !)
- Take steps to prevent this from happening ever again to me, in the future
- Most importantly to be notified immediately if this were to happen ever again !
I did it all, without spending a penny , Here’s how …
How can My Identity be stolen ? And is it something I should worry about ?
Well this is a very serious thing, however the last thing you should do is worry!. The best course of action is to read through this article and take the suggested action
What the Criminals do ?
They steal your identity and use it for a very expensive shopping spree, apply for car loan or a mortgage under your name leaving you to pay the bill. It can be very simple to obtain your personal details by simply finding one of your discarded shopping receipts, bank statements or a ‘post it note’ where you have written your PIN. All these can be found simply by going through your bin, and then using your details to apply for more credit in the form of credit cards, bank loan, or even a mortgage.
Or it can simply be through a web site which record your details or a phone call pretending to be from your bank and requesting your PIN. “NEVER EVER” give anyone your PIN. It’s called the Personnel Identification Number because it’s not supposed to be given to or be kept by anyone else except you !
The good news is most times you’re NOT liable for paying what ever has been fraudulently spent. The BAD news is that you have to prove that it wasn’t you who was spending. Someone stealing your Identity is a very unpleasant experience. It gets even worse when you have to prove that it wasn’t you going on a spending spree. This would involve even court actions bailiffs knocking on your door and problems getting even better mortgage because of a ruined credit file. This is stressful, time consuming , expensive (specially if you have to seek legal advice) and completely unnecessary. All this can be prevented with a few sensible precautions
How do I know my Identity is stolen ?
Identity thieves, may apply for various financial products like mortgages using your identity. To spot this, regularly check your credit report. Your Credit Report contain a record of your financial history obtained from banks (and shared among all financial institutions), about your banking history. For example it contains details about all your credit cards, amounts due and any loan payments that you may have missed.
So if someone is using your identity, you’ll notice the products appearing in your credit report you never applied for. Using the free method described here to take advantage of the Experian’s free offer, you can get get email alerts every time your credit report changes. This is totally free if you follow the advice given here . Unfortunately, not many people take identity theft seriously, it’s harmless until unless it happens to you ! We simply must make it a habit to check our credit report regularly for our own protection and peace of mind.
What can I do to protect my Identity for Free?
Never Keep your PINs
(Personnel Identification Number) along with your cards (this could be in your wallet). If you need to write down the PIN in order to remember, then please keep the PIN away from the card. If one is stolen (for example the credit card), the thieves will need the other (PIN) to use your account.
Use a shredder
You should NEVER EVER throw away any document which has your name address or financial details like credit card numbers. Shred all invoices, receipts, bills etc… Simply, buy a Cross cut Shredder (it’s very important that it’s cross cut ! For maximum safety) they can be bought for less that £15.If you are unable to buy a shredder, probably you can use the one at your workplace (if they haven’t got one perhaps you should get them to read this article to get them to invest in one !)
Use free anti-virus and anti-spyware
Detection and removal software like AVG from Grisoft or Avast, After Installing these it’s very important to keep them up to date by installing the free updates (patches) given from these vendors from time to time. You get all All this absolutely free.
Regularly check your bank statements.
This can be done very easily by regularly accessing them on line, to check for unusual activity. if you spot something , immediately get in touch with your bank or building society. And if something is amiss, Immediately Check you credit report. One positive thing about some banks is that they pro-actively monitor for unusual activities in your account. For example if you normally don’t spend more than £200 on line, the minute it happens you will be contacted by all possible means like phone, email and mail.
The danger with only checking your bank statements is if the thieves have created another profile using your data. Using your details They can create separate accounts in your name and you would have no idea that this has happened, unless you check your credit report.
The most important thing to do is to Regularly check your credit Report. If your identity has been stolen and If someone is using your details to make applications for credit in your name, the first place it will appear on is in your credit reference files. You must make it a point to check your Credit report at least once a year (or immediately in case of fraud). Click Here to Check your Free credit report for free
Beware of how much of your information is available publicly. One way of keeping track of this is by using google alerts. Simply enter your name and setup an alert, to inform you when ever your name appears on the searchable part of the Internet. You have to be especially careful about giving away your information on social or professional networking sites like Myspace, Facebook, or LinkedIn. . This information can be very easily obtained by criminals and used along with your other information to commit id theft. The criminals can use your identity details along with other publicly available information to build a new credit profile, applying for new credit in your name, which will go on to your records and destroy your credit history. If this happens it becomes nearly impossible to get a bank loan, a mortgage or even a mobile phone contract !These risks can be limited with the above sensible precautions.
Do I need ID fraud insurance my bank is trying to sell me?
NO !
Every time you walk in to a bank, they will try to sell some kind of insurance product !. This is the best way for them to earn commission. Do not be tempted or scared by the tough selling tactics of your bank. They will actually try to offer you these services for a lot of money and they simply don’t take NO for an answer. These might be useful but they are very expensive insurance products. Why pay when you can get it all for free ?
How do I check my Credit Report for free?
Experian Credit Expert offers an Unlimited instant on line access to your credit report with a ‘free 30 day trial’ service which includes access to your comprehensive credit report. Use it during the 30 days and cancel by either calling the free-phone number 0800 656 9000, or by emailing customerservice@creditexpert.co.uk Click Here to Check your Free credit report for free
You’ll get the following with the Experian Credit report:
Free Unlimited online access to your credit report. Your credit report contains all important details about your financial details, such as the number of credit cards / debit cards , loans you have. The monthly payments you are making into those accounts and missing payments if any, new products you’ve applied for (these are listed along with the lending bank), addresses and electoral roll information and county court judgments if any. Checking your credit report regularly is important to prevent ID fraud . .
E-mail or SMS alerts as and when changes are detected in your credit report. You will get an email or SMS any time there is a major change on your Experian credit report. This includes any applications for new credit. If you get an e-mail or SMS Alert and you haven’t recently applied and if you have not idea what it is then this could point to someone else using your identity illegally. In the unfortunate event where your Identity has been stolen and being used by someone else
Specialist credit expert advice via an identity fraud free helpline seven days a week. This provides one-on-one help with sorting out your Id fraud problem, by canceling any compromised accounts, writing to the banks etc to clear your name, make suggestions for repairing your damaged credit status and help with filing police reports. during this stressful time, to have one to one help and some one experienced to walk you through it all, is a very nice things to have specially when it’s free of charge !
My Identity might be stolen ! What do I do now ?
To get instant help, if you think you’ve fallen victim, Experian’s CreditExpert monitoring includes access to an Identity fraud protection helpline; while this costs £6.99 a month (£83.88 per year), it offers a free 30 day trial to this service which you can take advantage of. So if you need it (or even if you don’t, it’s like a free health check), simply sign up to the service, use the helpline and then cancel the service before the 30 days is up. There are so many parties misplacing our sensitive financial data, like banks using unsafe practices for getting rid of documents, which contain our sensitive financial data.
You simply can’t afford someone to ruin your credit history, it will ruin your chance of getting a better phone contract, the best car finance deal, the best credit card deal or even a better mortgage deal !. The financial consequences are pretty severe! Why wait and face the consequences ? Act now and make sure your Credit Report is in good condition by using this free service.
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