ID theft targets children

The Wall Street Journal (by Yuka Hayashi, 8/29/18) reports that a new federal law going into effect in September 2018 will make it easier for parents to check a child's name and freeze their credit to combat the growing problem of ID theft of children.
"A child's Social Security number can be used by identity thieves to apply for government benefits, open bank and credit card accounts, apply for a loan or utility service, or rent a place to live. Check for a credit report to see if your child’s information is being misused. If it is, visit IdentityTheft.gov to report and recover from identity theft."
Read about Child Identity Theft
https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0040-child-identity-theft

Marriott-Starwood data theft

Here we go again... another data breech. Even if you haven't stayed at an affected property recently, check out this info on ID theft and how to protect yourself. Below is quoted directly from Starwood:


We remind you it is always advisable to be vigilant for incidents of fraud or identity theft by reviewing your account statements and free credit reports for any unauthorized activity. You may obtain a copy of your credit report, free of charge, once every 12 months from each of the three nationwide credit reporting companies. To order your annual free credit report, please visit www.annualcreditreport.com or call toll free at 1-877-322-8228. Contact information for the three nationwide credit reporting companies is as follows:

Equifax, PO Box 740241, Atlanta, GA 30374, www.equifax.com, 1-800-685-1111 Experian, PO Box 2002, Allen, TX 75013, www.experian.com, 1-888-397-3742 TransUnion, PO Box 2000, Chester, PA 19016, www.transunion.com, 1-800-916-8800

If you believe you are the victim of identity theft or have reason to believe your personal information has been misused, you should immediately contact the Federal Trade Commission and/or the Attorney General’s office in your state. You can obtain information from these sources about steps an individual can take to avoid identity theft as well as information about fraud alerts and security freezes. You should also contact your local law enforcement authorities and file a police report. Obtain a copy of the police report in case you are asked to provide copies to creditors to correct your records. Contact information for the Federal Trade Commission is as follows:

Federal Trade Commission, Consumer Response Center, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20580, 1-877-IDTHEFT (438-4338), www.ftc.gov/idtheft

If you are a resident of Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, North Carolina, or Rhode Island, you may contact and obtain information from your state attorney general at:

Connecticut Attorney General's Office, 55 Elm Street, Hartford, CT 06106, www.ct.gov/ag, 1-860-808-5318 Maryland Attorney General's Office, 200 St. Paul Place, Baltimore, MD 21202, www.oag.state.md.us, 1-888-743-0023 or 1-410-576-6300 Office of the Massachusetts Attorney General, One Ashburton Place, Boston, MA 02108, www.mass.gov/ago/contact-us.html, 1-617-727-8400 North Carolina Attorney General's Office, 9001 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC 27699, www.ncdoj.gov, 1-919-716-6400 or 1-877-566-7226 Rhode Island Attorney General’s Office, 150 South Main Street, Providence, RI 02903, www.riag.ri.gov, 1-401-274-4400

If you are a resident of Massachusetts or Rhode Island, note that pursuant to Massachusetts or Rhode Island law, you have the right to file and obtain a copy of a police report. You also have the right to request a security freeze.

If you are a resident of West Virginia, you have the right to ask that nationwide consumer reporting agencies place “fraud alerts” in your file to let potential creditors and others know that you may be a victim of identity theft, as described below. You also have a right to place a security freeze on your credit report, as described below.

Fraud Alerts: There are two types of fraud alerts you can place on your credit report to put your creditors on notice that you may be a victim of fraud—an initial alert and an extended alert. You may ask that an initial fraud alert be placed on your credit report if you suspect you have been, or are about to be, a victim of identity theft. An initial fraud alert stays on your credit report for at least 90 days. You may have an extended alert placed on your credit report if you have already been a victim of identity theft with the appropriate documentary proof. An extended fraud alert stays on your credit report for seven years. You can place a fraud alert on your credit report by contacting any of the three national credit reporting agencies.

Credit Freezes: You have the right to put a credit freeze, also known as a security freeze, on your credit file, free of charge, so that no new credit can be opened in your name without the use of a PIN number that is issued to you when you initiate a freeze. A security freeze is designed to prevent potential credit grantors from accessing your credit report without your consent. If you place a security freeze, potential creditors and other third parties will not be able to get access to your credit report unless you temporarily lift the freeze. Therefore, using a security freeze may delay your ability to obtain credit. There is no fee to place or lift a security freeze. Unlike a fraud alert, you must separately place a security freeze on your credit file at each credit reporting company. For information and instructions to place a security freeze, contact each of the credit reporting agencies at the addresses below:

Experian Security Freeze, PO Box 9554, Allen, TX 75013, www.experian.com TransUnion Security Freeze, PO Box 2000, Chester, PA 19016, www.transunion.com Equifax Security Freeze, PO Box 105788, Atlanta, GA 30348, www.equifax.com

We remind you it is always advisable to be vigilant for incidents of fraud or identity theft by reviewing your account statements and free credit reports for any unauthorized activity. You may obtain a copy of your credit report, free of charge, once every 12 months from each of the three nationwide credit reporting companies. To order your annual free credit report, please visit www.annualcreditreport.com or call toll free at 1-877-322-8228. Contact information for the three nationwide credit reporting companies is as follows:

Smishing... a variation on phishing

"Smishing" is an attempt by cybercriminals to get personal information and to steal identities through text messaging. Learn about common scams and how to protect against them.
October is Cybersecurity Awareness Month

"Smishing is yet another tool used by cybercriminals to obtain personal information and steal identities. You’ve probably heard of ‘phishing,’ which is an attempt to get people to provide sensitive information via email, like credit card numbers or passwords. Smishing is a mashup of SMS (short message service) and phishing. Basically, it’s phishing via text."
Thanks to: Samantha Delgado, Communications, PR & Corporate Responsibility, Association of International Certified Professional Accountants
Get the details at http://blog.aicpa.org/2018/10/smishing-what-you-need-to-know.html#sthash.q6I8AByU.dpbs

Protect yourself from ID theft: Freeze your credit for free

Under a new federal law that just took effect, you can freeze (and un-freeze) your credit at no charge. Previously there was a charge allowed in many states.
"Congress passed the law in response to last year’s massive Equifax hack, which exposed the private information of more than 145 million Americans."
Why freeze your credit? It's one of the best ways to protect yourself from identity theft.
you need to contact each of the three major credit agencies: Equifax, Experian and TransUnion.
The Federal Trade Commission has links to those pages on its identity theft information website.

"Additionally, the law allows for a free credit freeze for children under age 16, something that was not previously allowed in all states. This helps prevent criminals from creating fraudulent accounts under a child’s identity, a problem that often goes undetected until they are adults and seek credit of their own."
"A credit freeze is considered one of the most effective ways to protect criminals from opening credit in your name. It is different than credit monitoring, which tracks a person’s credit and alerts them of changes in activity."
Read the full article by SARAH SKIDMORE SELL, Associated Press personal finance writer, at: http://www.stgeorgeutah.com/news/archive/2018/09/22/apc-you-can-now-request-a-credit-freeze-free-of-charge/#.W6hQS_ZReCg

Equifax breach exposes 143 million people to identity theft

Who can you trust? No one... when a major credit bureau's computers have been breached it's a really frustrating situation.

I discovered that my social security number is among those at risk. 

Experian has set up a website where you can check if your personal info was stolen:  https://www.equifaxsecurity2017.com/. Also, call this phone number 866-447-7559 for more information. Experian is offering free credit monitoring to all U.S. consumers for a year.

Check out details at The Salt Lake Tribune: http://www.sltrib.com/news/2017/09/08/equifax-breach-exposes-143-million-people-to-identity-theft/

Help for Identity Theft Victims

IdentityTheft.gov now makes it easier for victims of identity theft to report it and recover from it. New features on the site allow people to: 

Get a personal recovery plan that walks them through each step

Update their personal plan and track their progress

Print pre-filled letters & forms to send to credit bureaus, businesses, and debt collectors

No matter what the specific identity theft situation is, IdentityTheft.gov can help. And, the entire site is available in Spanish at RobodeIdentidad.gov.