Frequently Asked Questions

Identity theft is the unauthorized use of a person’s Personally Identifiable Information (PII) for fraudulent purposes. It’s using someone else’s name, credit card number, Social Security number, or other information to illegally claim credit, goods, or benefits. The FTC estimates that approximately 9 million individuals have their identities stolen each year.

Thieves can steal an identity and commit fraud by either obtaining your information in physical form (credit cards, driver’s licenses, account numbers, etc.) or by retrieving your information electronically – usually off the internet.

The methods of getting the physical information includes: stealing your wallet and rummaging through your trash. Electronic hijacking can be achieved through “phishing” schemes and computer viruses.

With the right information, an identity thief can use your information to

• raid your bank account,
• make charges on your credit card,
• open new credit accounts or
• take out loans for themselves.

There are other, non-financial uses for your information, too. Criminals can “clone” your identity and commit criminal acts “disguised” as you. They can hijack your information to obtain health benefits for themselves, take out insurance, even pretend they are you when applying for a job.

Undetected, someone could lead an entire fraudulent life under your name.

Stolen information is usually used to open credit accounts or to simply order goods and services. You should keep a close eye on your credit card bills and bank statements to make sure there are no charges that you didn’t make yourself. The sooner you recognize an unfamiliar charge as fraud, the better.

Also, check your credit file routinely to make sure you recognize all the activity listed. Every request for a credit card, a loan, or even major purchases should generate a credit check with one of the major credit bureaus. If you see a credit check as been run for a purpose that you did not initiate, chances are your information has been hijacked.

Legitimate businesses and organizations maintain databases of their clients’ information. A data breach is any situation where such a database is compromised. 

This may happen intentionally (for instance, when a hacker gains unauthorized access by manipulating software vulnerabilities,) or by accident (when an organization mishandles its information storage procedures.) 

Usually the business or organization will take steps to alert their customers to the breach and help correct the problem, but, as always, it is ultimately your responsibility to protect your own financial information and take measures to keep yourself safe from the identity fraud that can result from such a data breach.

Phishing is a scam committed online to trick someone into revealing their Personally Identifiable Information so it can be criminally misused for fraud. 

Phishing scams often take the form of emails that seem to come from a trustworthy source, such as your bank or an online store where you do business. The email tries to convince you that you need to update your information, or reveal your password. 

Often, links in the email will take you to a counterfeit version of a site with which you are familiar and ask you to enter your information. But you are not at your trusted site, and the thieves are poised to capture your information.

They can be. It has become increasingly popular for parents to create a Social Security account for their children at an early age – although years can go by before they enter the work force or have any active use for it.

Identity thieves thrive on undiscovered breaches, so a child’s identity can be particularly enticing. It’s possible for a child’s information to be compromised and not have the fraud discovered for years.

A step beyond a fraud alert, a credit freeze prohibits creditors from accessing your credit history at all. Without a credit history, most legitimate lender won’t follow through with a fraudulent credit request. 

A major use of stolen financial information involves the opening of unauthorized credit accounts.

Before this fraud happens, the credit issuer is expected to order a credit report to determine your eligibility. A fraud alert tells the credit bureaus to notify you before issuing a credit report. This gives you an early heads-up when someone tries to use your credit information without your approval.

Of course, this is only effective if the credit issuer actually puts in for a credit check. This isn’t always the case.

This is the contact information you need:

Equifax 
U.S. Consumer Services
Equifax Information Services, LLC.

Phone: 678-795-7971

Email: businessrecordsecurity@equifax.com

Experian
Experian Security Assistance
P.O. Box 72

Allen, TX 75013

Email: BusinessRecordsVictimAssistance@experian.com

TransUnion
Phone: 1-800-372-8391

Most of the services provided by identity theft protection services are things you can do on your own, and often for free.

For instance, consumers are entitled by law to receive one free credit report per year from each of the three credit reporting agencies: Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax. Also, contacting credit card companies and other financial institutions about stolen credit cards and other information is certainly something you can do yourself – as is contacting government agencies about your lost Social Security number, driver’s license, etc.

However, the steps you need to take in a case of identity fraud can be costly in time and energy, so it may be to your benefit to have a ID theft protection service ready to help you with these efforts.

Ultimately, you are. Until you are able to prove that you didn’t make the charges yourself, or it wasn’t you who defaulted on a loan, for instance, financial institutions are likely to treat you as the guilty one. Privacy and confidentiality laws, furthermore, make it necessary for you to pursue each suspicious transaction separately.

The sooner you detect identity theft, the fewer damaging incidents you’ll need to repair. A busy thief can burn through your credit quickly. You need to act even more quickly.