Identity Theft – Monitor Your Credit ReportWritten by Charles Essmeier
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of suspicious activity, you can then call appropriate agency, be it a lender, credit bureau itself or police, if necessary. The packages vary in both prices and features, so interested consumers should shop around to find a plan that works to fit their needs.
A free alternative is to obtain a free credit report. Thanks to a law passed last year, Americans can obtain one free report from each of three credit bureaus per year through a special Website. By obtaining one report every four months, consumers can keep an eye on activity under their name for free. This is not nearly as effective as subscribing to a monitoring plan, which will notify you when activity takes place, but it is better than doing nothing at all. With recent security breaches by major credit card processors, consumers who are worried about being victims of identity theft have genuine concerns. The credit bureaus are doing what they can to help, and monitoring programs and free credit reports are a step in right direction.
©Copyright 2005 by Retro Marketing. Charles Essmeier is the owner of Retro Marketing, a firm devoted to informational Websites, including End-Your-Debt.com, a site devoted to debt consolidation and credit counseling, and HomeEquityHelp.com, a site devoted to information regarding mortgages and home equity lending .
| | Identity Theft – Beware of Phishing Attacks!Written by Charles Essmeier
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steal your identity?
There are several tips to help identify phishing expeditions. The first is greeting. “Dear valued customer” is an odd greeting from a company that has a database that contains your name, address, Social Security number and credit card. Any company with whom you do business that legitimately wants to contact you will probably do so by name. Look for misspelled words. Phishing expeditions often come from foreign senders who often mangle English text of message rather badly, combining both bad grammar and bad spelling. Check links in messages. The link may say www.eBay.com, but if you move your mouse over link, you may see something like “htttp://200.118.105…” on bottom line of your e-mail program, indicating that link is a fake. Should you click on link, you’ll be taken to a page that looks just like real Website, but why take chance?
If you need to contact your bank, credit card company, or online auction house, either go to their Website directly or call them. Never click on a link in a message that threatens you with account suspension; if a company with whom you do business has issues with your account, they will probably contact you by phone or mail. These individuals who use these phishing tips are getting more clever all time. It pays to be suspicious. If you aren’t, you may end up a victim of identity theft.
©Copyright 2005 by Retro Marketing. Charles Essmeier is the owner of Retro Marketing, a firm devoted to informational Websites, including End-Your-Debt.com, a site devoted to debt consolidation and credit counseling, and HomeEquityHelp.com, a site devoted to information regarding mortgages and home equity lending .
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