Identityfraudresources.com

Archive for July, 2010

Identity Theft Regulations – are They Enough to Protect Us?

Identity theft is a crime in which unscrupulous individuals obtain another individual’s personal information such as driver’s license numbers, Social Security numbers, credit card numbers etc. and then use this sensitive information for any number of dubious acts. The crimes that one can commit with someone else’s information vary widely. The identity thieves may open accounts in your name and run up bills that will never be paid. They may apply for credit in your name, open up cell phone accounts, or even open checking accounts with the intention of acquiring blank checks. Your identity may also be used by these thieves to obtain false identification. In the worst-case scenarios the criminals will use your identity in the commission of other crimes resulting a warrant for your arrest.

As you can see identity theft can range from irritating to life shattering. So, what is our government doing to protect us? It wasn’t until 1998 that identity theft first became a federal crime. Various other laws have been passed since then to try to prevent identity theft as well as punish those committing the crime.

In 2001 the federal banking agencies implemented an act that was meant to establish standards for safeguarding customer information.

In 2003 the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act was passed. This bill set up appropriate standards for the disposal of sensitive credit report information as well as creating guidelines for recognizing patterns and specific forms of identity theft in an effort to prevent identity theft from happening.

In 2004 the Identity Theft Penalty Enhancement Act was signed into law. This law increase the penalties for the people that committed these crimes.

The identity theft act which makes identity theft a federal crime carries penalties of up to 15 years in prison and a maximum fine of up to 0,000. This law also enables the Secret Service, the FBI, and other law enforcement agencies to fight identity theft.

Even with all the laws that have been passed over the years identity theft is still an ever increasing problem. It seems no amount of laws or penalties will deter people from committing this crime. The best thing you can possibly do to protect yourself is to learn how to prevent identity theft from ever happening to you in the first place.

Does Free Annual Credit Report Include Scores?

Having good credit is extremely necessary in this day and age.

A blemished credit report can get in the way of you wanting to buy a home, a car, getting a job and even renting an apartment. So taking good care of it is very important and shouldn’t be taken lightly.

Paula de la Torre Editor of the “Best Credit Reporting Services” website — http://www.BestCreditReportServices.com — pointed out;

“… There are many websites available that offer free credit reports and providing the customer with a free credit report once a year. This credit report will be active for 30 days and will allow the user to print the report, dispute inquiries and change invalid information. This report does not come with a free credit score, but it can be purchased for .95. Which is a great deal! …”

These company will allow you to receive your credit report and score for free, but in turn you will have to enter into a membership plan. This membership will allow for Triple Advantage to charge your credit card .95 a month. Having a membership with this company will for you to check not one but all three of your credit reports any time you like and how often you want.

“… Monitoring your credit report is essential for staying up to day with items that shouldn’t be on there. It can also reduce your chances of having your identity stolen which can be very stressful. Monitoring your credit can also keep you up to date on things that are needed for you to improve your credit score and deem you more credit “worthiness”…”

Remember, your credit score should be cherished. If used correctly it can bring much happiness and less stressful situations, but if it falls into the wrong hands it can take many years to fix it. Which can cause stress and sometimes even depression.

Further information about how to get a detailed credit report including scores and as often as you want by visiting; http://www.BestCreditReportServices.com

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A review of the Prepaid Legal Business Opportunity: Must read for Prepaid legal associate

This company was started in 1972 by Harlond Stoneceipher. Prepaid Legal service is a public company (NYSE:PPD), and you can find them under the direct sales company. Though they are very popular,I recently begin to pay attention to them since a woman tried to get me to join the business. She currently partner with prepaid legal. Is prepaid legal business opportunity legit? Negative. Can you make money with the opportunity? there is a lot of variables that will reveal that.
Product and service:
This is a little evident from their name, they offer legal services for regular folks like you and I at a relatively cheap price. I am talking of per month or something in that range. You would be able to pick up your phone anytime and call the lawyers anytime. In my estimation, this is a “hell of” a transact business.
You also need to know that these attorneys are very experienced. The last time that I researched this, it cost around 0/hr to visit a lawyer. But here, you get access to them for /month. This is a splendid deal.
The services includes protection against identity theft, assessment of contracts, tax audit services, motor vehicle services, covers preventive legal services, trial defense services, , and legal shield. With the basic package, you do not get access to the identity theft protection , : nevertheless you can get access with additional monthly fee.
To get started in this business opportunity, you pay 9. This is reasonably cheap compare to other business ventures out there.

Prepaid Legal Compensation Plan
Here is the juicy part.How is the payment structured in Prepaid legal opportunity? OK, I will be honest with you here. The payment plan is not clearly understood. I will simplify it here. They company will compensate you when you acquire customers. You get a percentage as these customers pay the monthly services fee.
Another fashion that you get rewarded is when you recruit people to become a prepaid legal associate. In this complicated method of payment, you can get to 5 positions.
1. Associate
2. Senior Associate
3. Manager
4. Director
5. Executive Position
Is prepaid legal business the right one for you?
That is your assessment to make. Can you make a lot money with the prepaid legal business opportunity? Yes Even though I don’t like the market for the services. The compensation is arguably one of the best ones out there. You might need to work on your sales skills a little bit. But who says financial freedom is easy?
Developing your marketing ability is also essential. There is a proven system that you can use to market yourself in such a way that people will literally beg you to merge withyour prepaid legal business. You should to take advantage of the internet revolution. There are tens of free methods you can use Online that will place in front of millions of people per day. You need an online MLM lead generation system.

Related Prepaid Legal Associates Articles

Webloyalty – Reservation Rewards

Welcome to Reservation Rewards. With our thousands of coupons, discounts and deals, you can get the most out of your money each and every day. Reservation Rewards offers deals that are next door as well as deals you’ll use on vacation, and Reservation Rewards is so much more than just restaurant and shopping discount program. It includes travel protection programs for increased peace of mind when you are away from home. Keep reading for more information on the great deals offered by Reservation Rewards.

We have astounding shopping deals – you may never pay retail prices again. You can save more when you shop with our thousands of two-for-one and 50 percent off savings offers.

You can broaden your culinary horizons while saving cash with Reservation Rewards. With 30,000 restaurant offers just a computer click away, you can indulge your preferences.

Reservation Rewards Attractions and leisure time discounts feature two-for-one admission to some of the best theme parks, zoos and museums. That can add up to serious savings on your next family vacation.

How would you like to pay less for every film you see? You can with Reservation Rewards. Get discounts of up to forty percent at some of the best theater chains in the country.

Get the credit fraud protection you need at a price you’ll love. With up to ,000 of additional coverage available every year, you and your family are protected.

Everyone needs 24-hour roadside assistance coverage and towing reimbursements, but who wants to pay extra for them? Reservation Rewards includes these benefits in our monthly membership fee.

Three travel protection services keep you safe when you are away from home. Use our Lost Baggage and Trip Delay protection to save money. Our Hotel Overbooking Coverage can protect you and your family from unexpected vacation costs.

This is just a small sample of what Reservation Rewards can do for you.

This article is originally published here: Reservation Rewards.

Learn More:

Reservation Rewards Information – Information on Reservation Rewards.

Reservation Rewards Faqs – Frequently Asked Questions.

www.top-creditcards.net — E-Business Profits Income Increased After Credit Card Fraud Protection Alexius Larpinuere is an owner of a Canadian e-business that is experts in promoting presents on the internet. The company work day in higher products throughout Christmas, along with other present providing days. The business makes the majority of its income throughout this period, and also seems to lose part of it to settlement fraud. The income reduction due to credit card fraud protection got grow to be part & parcel of his company for many years today, And Alexius had started to take it because he was unaware regarding how to avoid it, this mindset had emboldened individuals that specific his site, And also every year the amount of fraud greater. Alexius was unsociable to the problem of fraud, since the business also had quickly improved through the years. However the points however had been various today, since the economic downturn has impacted numerous businesses And the company too was right now at the time of it, the problem of fraud was no more a back burners anymore. Alexius was fast to understand that credit card fraud protection has been his major activity today, And if some thing significant had to be done regarding it, he had to take that motivation rather than depend on payment gateways for credit card fraud avoidance . The brand new starting might begin with employing professional that may make pre-screening of payment tools prior to the settlement gateways …
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Why You Need An Identity Theft Attorney

Most people think that it won’t happen to them. When it does, they are shocked. They feel violated, and worse, they are often well on the road to financial ruin before they even know that a crime has been committed against them. You guessed it. We are talking about Identity Theft, and if this has happened to you, you may actually need an identity theft attorney.

As much as we hear about identity theft today, few people know what steps to take when they first realize that their identities have been stolen. Most people mistakenly think that they can handle things on their own, and don’t seek ‘outside help.’ This is the worst mistake that you can make, and the chances for recovering from the identity theft just became slimmer.

It is true that there are steps that you need to take. Obviously, you need to notify your bank and cancel your bank cards. You need to call the driver’s license office in your state and the social security administration. You definitely need a copy of your credit report, and you may even need to contact the State Department to ensure that nobody is using your identity to obtain a passport. There is much to do, and it takes time.

Even if you start taking all of these steps, you still most likely need an identity theft attorney. Here is what will happen without one. You get your credit report, and discover that someone is using your good name – and your good credit – to obtain expensive items. If you’re lucky, they haven’t used your credit card, but there is a good chance that even if they didn’t use your existing credit cards, they have obtained other credit cards, as well as lines of credit, in your name.

You see this, and you start contacting these companies, and even banks, to let them know that the person who opened the line of credit in your name is not you. You expect the company to take immediate action to get this off of your credit report, but that is not going to happen. In fact, they are most likely going to treat you like a criminal. They will essentially tell you that you are responsible for thousands of dollars and that if you don’t pay; they are going to take legal action against you. You see, most businesses are not set up to deal with the effects of identity theft. They just want the money that is owed to them, whether you are the one that owes that money or not. Their records say that you owe it.

This is why you need an identity theft attorney from the get-go. The identity theft attorney will work with you to contact creditors and credit bureaus. The attorney will then work with you to get the documentation that the companies and credit bureaus require, so that the negative report can be removed from the company files, as well as your credit file. The identity theft attorney will follow up to ensure that everything was done correctly, and will work to make sure that your good name is actually protected, despite what someone else may be doing with your information. If for some reason a company or credit bureau is grossly uninformed, your identity theft attorney will take legal action against them, so that a judge can give them the schooling that they need – usually at their expense.

Identity theft is a serious problem today, and you can be affected by it before you know it. If it happens to you, the best thing that you can do for your peace of mind, and your good credit, is to get in touch with an identity theft attorney right away. The worst thing that you can do is to try to fix things on your own. In fact, you will find that trying to correct the problems caused by identity theft without legal guidance is more costly than paying an identity theft attorney in the long run.

Free Yearly Credit Report: Assistance to control your credit records

Before offering loan, the lenders usually check the credit report of the borrower. This credit report gives a complete summary of your monetary standing in the market. So, it is suggested that examine your Free Yearly Credit Report before approaching for loans. This yearly credit report shows the complete credit history of the borrower that when he had his first loan and credit card. So, one can easily that these reports are the document of the entire borrowing and reimbursements of the borrower.

Generally, credit report changes, hence it is recommended to the borrower submit an application for the credit statement annually. This will really provide assistance to the client to have a look on their confidential records. Through these documents one will get to know about details of paid off, report of late payments, about new application filled or not and current credit status. With the aid of Free Yearly Credit Report the customer will get help to check and keep all his records on track. Additionally, yearly credit report list entire the existing and closed accounts and provides the basic and necessary details regarding the status of the borrower such as name and address, age and gender, martial rank, bank and credit card account, present balance and debts withdrawn. Moreover, this credit report also provides you the information regarding to the economical life of the individual like CCJ, arrears, bankruptcy, IVA and late payments. All these information plays a vital part in the folder and allows the lender to make a better decision while judging the fiscal condition of the customer.

Free Yearly Credit Report is provided as service which does not require any charges while receiving yearly free credit report. Furthermore, this free credit report requires little analysis and everything comes out with a clarification and layout which makes it is easy to understand. The free credit reports allows you to correct your mistakes if you find any wrong information that may affect your low interest rate, job or even denial of further credit. In case if you find any inconsistency in your credit report, then write a note to the credit company to provide the correct document. As you receive three separated credit reports from Equifax, Trans Union and Experian, you required to view every statement to find the error. Thus, looking at all three reports for right information requires asking for yearly credit report.

Find More Free Yearly Credit Report Articles

A few social security card theft products I can recommend:

A Practical Guide to Social Security Disability

Step by Step instructions for completing your Social Security Disability Application. A guide to winning Social Security Disability Benefits.
A Practical Guide to Social Security Disability

Getting Social Security Disability: Your 9 Step Individual Action Plan

Written by an ex Disability Claims Examiner, Getting Social Security Disability: Your 9 Step Plan helps you get a fast and accurate decision on your claim! Learn to describe your disability using SSA’s language of function, check claim status and more…
Getting Social Security Disability: Your 9 Step Individual Action Plan

Eliminating Fraud And Waste In Medicare

The lack of action in this area has (and will continue to have) a big impact on the overall cost of health care to small business. This is a low hanging fruit that doesn’t get the attention it needs.

The President told the American people that he could pay for a large portion of Health Care Reform by reducing the fraud and waste in Medicare. If that is the case why is he waiting for Health Care reform legislation? Why not begin the eliminate it last February when he first said it?

This is not the first time rhetoric is followed up with maintaining the status quo in the health care debate. It’s much easier to first lock people into an expensive health care bill and then go about cutting waste and fraud. We could always say, “Well, we have a budget for it (the Health Care bill with or without a public option) and we tried to cut waste but we didn’t find that much, really…”

For example, in 2002 a biotech in St. Louis, MO, published a peer-reviewed study showing that 90% of kidney dialysis patients wouldn’t need the treatment, potentially saving a substantial portion of the billion and growing budget currently spent on this often fatal treatment in the US alone. The NHS refused to acknowledge the scientific results. A more recent study by AstraZeneca confirmed the 2002 findings. Again, nobody cared. This year, legislation in Congress noted that kidney disease and associated treatment options is the largest and also the fastest growing cost component of MediCare, yet nobody cared to look for a cost-cutting solution. Rather, Congress focused on increasing the budget to allow for the cost increase.

Now that the President has proposed to cut MediCare and shift the funds to a different part of the budget, you are right, there is again no solution. Of course, vested interests have a lot to lose, yet change is inevitable. The quality of health care in this country is declining rapidly. The model we have now doesn’t focus on results (healthy people), instead it rewards doctors and pharma companies who keep people coming back for more.

We need more competitive health care options, not fewer. Deborah Williams, Dir. of Policy at Baxter wrote “We as the health care community should begin with building incentives for the right care at the right place. If we can’t do it in an area where the answers and data are readily available and relatively robust, it points to a serious societal problem.” Note her choice of words, “relatively,” not “absolute.” She acknowledges that nobody is perfect, but she does stress that we need to focus on the right care for patients.

In the January 2008 Congressional Budget Office (CBO) report on Technological Change and Healthcare Spending, CBO points to development of dialysis of patients with kidney failure as increasing costs. The development of renal dialysis therapy and the many improvements made to it over the past several decades have vastly improved the ability of providers to care for these patients, but at the same time this led to higher costs because patients stayed in treatment longer. In other words, no effort was made to prevent the onset of kidney disease… It further noted that the costs will continue to increase as the prevalence of patients with end stage renal disease has been estimated to increase by 62% by 2020 (Gilbertson and Collins, USRDS (the NIH US Renal Data System)). Whatever happened to prevention…don’t we need an SEC type body for health care?

To answer the question in the post title ….. I can give you two reasons:

1. The Congress (both Republican and Democrat controlled) has consistently failed to fund staff and technology in order to do so. (For every spent on exam of suspicious claims comes back to Medicare, yet Congress keeps cutting the exam and technology budget)

2. The President has little influence on the process beyond the selection of an Administrator who will focus on the issue.

Congress micro-manages Medicare and Medicaid, that micro-management is single largest contributor to the 9% of each year’s payments, which constitute Fraud, Waste and Abuse. Yes, that is roughly billion and over the last 20 years the only impact made on fixing that problem was in the first term of the GWB administration when the number went from 11% to the current 9% number.

However, remember, the currently Democratic controlled Congress is telling us they will add millions of people to Medicare and Medicaid and yet it will cost us less than it does today.

I guess they really think we are just that stupid, and from the look of the current polling and who we elected maybe they are correct.

Free Online Credit Score – It’s Fast, and Easy!

Everybody knows the important of their credit score, and everybody knows the importance of knowing their credit score.

What many people do not know is that they legally have access to their credit score in many ways, and that it is fast and easy to see it.

Aurora Lillo Editor of the “Best Credit Reporting Services” website — http://www.BestCreditReportServices.com — pointed out;

 

“…What most people do when they wish to see their score is go to the major bureaus, or the Annual Credit Report website. Unfortunately, these people do not realize that they are only seeing a portion of the picture when they do this. The Annual Credit Report website does show the information from all of the bureaus, but that information does not include the score. It only shows the positives and negatives that they bureaus know about, and the consumer is left guessing about what the score may be. A far faster and easier way to get the whole picture is to go to a paid website, such as freecreditreport.com or creditreport.com…”

These websites tell the user all of the information that is on their record. Not only do they see the positives and negatives that they can see on Annual Credit Report, but these sites also give the scores. Free is a little bit of a misnomer, as there are some subscription fees, but signing up is fast and easy, and the benefits far outweigh the cost.

Furthermore, the sites offer other features that can greatly help someone to monitor their credit and keep everything going well. As these are fee-based websites, a person is able to view their information more times a year than the just once that the government-sponsored Annual Credit Report offers, always including the score in addition to the report. Also, they will monitor a person’s score and send them alerts when something seems to be going wrong or many accounts are opened in a short period of time, implying identity theft. Finally, this is all done via email, which is the fastest and easiest way to get things done these days.

“…In short, these websites are the best way for a person to ensure that their credit score stays intact is to monitor it through one of the above websites. While they are not free, they are fast and easy to use and give far more in-depth information than any of the alternatives. Knowing one’s score can save one from heartache when looking for a loan and help prevent identity theft, the most dangerous crime today…” added A. Lillo.

Further information about how to get a detailed credit report including scores and as often as you want by visiting; http://www.BestCreditReportServices.com

More Free Online Credit Score Articles

How To Dispute Your Credit Report Information

Errors on your credit report may take a variety of forms from simple spelling errors or no new address reported to fraudulent uses of your credit to obtain financing for purchases. There are two different ways to correct or “dispute” this information; online or in writing.

If you need a credit report visit “An Overview of the Fair Credit Reporting Act” http://www.identitytheftsecrets.com/an_overview_of_the_fair_credit_reporting_act_what.html for information on how to obtain your free credit report and why you are entitled to one.

Here is a step by step process for disputing your credit report information:

It is important that you receive your credit report from all three major credit reporting agencies: Equifax-800-685-1111 www.equifax.com ; Experian-888-EXPERIAN (888-397-3742) www.experian.com ; TransUnion-800-916-8800, www.transunion.com: as different credit companies report to different agencies. Not all creditors use only one and the incorrect information may appear in different reports. You may obtain your credit report online for free one time a year, with each additional report costing and additional sum, usually .00. If you are obtaining your first free annual credit report it will include all three agencies, you do not need to request one for each. However, you may find it more cost effective to use a credit monitoring system with a yearly fee that gives you all three credit reports in one on a periodic basis which you determine.

Next, review your credit report and mark the incorrect information. You may wish to print your report out to do this – especially if you have several mistakes or errors. Be sure to record the name, address, amount and account number if available in your notes.

Third, write the credit reporting agency a letter indicating that specific information if incorrect.

Fourth, attach to the letter any supporting documentation to dispute the inaccurate information. I recommend that one of your attachments be a copy of your credit report with specific errors circled or noted in some manner. You may wish to number them and then address as each numbered point within your letter, especially if you have several errors or mistakes. For example, there were errors on my credit report that all listed a false address and a variation of my name. I provided proof of my name over the period of several years, proof that the address did not exist and proof regarding my primary address that was listed on one, as it was not my address but a rental property.
NOTE: The most important thing you need to do when attaching documents is to include COPIES. Do not send originals as you may need that information for another report or in the future.

Fifth, write another letter to the credit lender providing the information. Indicate to them that you have filed a dispute with the credit reporting agency (Naming it specifically) and provide a copy of supporting documentation of the dispute to that information provider also.

If you are using a credit monitoring system online you may be able to eliminate many of these steps. In many of the better versions of a credit monitoring system, as you pull up the details of each account it offers you the option to “dispute” the information. You simply click on dispute and it will automatically pull up the account information you are disputing. You then has a small amount of space to indicate why you dispute the information and click submit.

After filing either your written letter or online dispute the credit reporting agency will investigate the information and determine if your dispute is accurate or not. They also forward all the information you have provided to the credit lender. Usually within approximately 30 days a decision is made as to the accurateness of the information and the credit lender must provide all three major credit reporting agencies with the corrected information. Also when the investigation is complete, you are entitled to the results in writing; a free corrected copy of your credit report; and if you request it a corrected copy of your credit report may be submitted to other credit providers that you may be trying to obtain credit from. For example, you may discover the errors while attempting to purchase a car or home. A corrected copy will be provided to the lender upon your request. If your dispute is denied, resubmit it with additional documentation or contact the credit reporting agency to determine what information would be convincing.

Disputing your credit is not something you need to hire a specialist to do, and many of those “get help repairing your credit report” programs are scams that are used to obtain your information for their own identity theft purposes or just to make money. Remember, negative information on your report that is correct can not be removed, no matter what someone may offer. This is a simple easy process, which involves very little cost to you. The only cost you incur is your postage and copies. For just a few dollars and a little effort you can save yourself money and permanent damages to your credit report. It’s well worth the effort.

Sample letter:

* Date
Your Name
Your Address, City, State, Zip Code
Complaint Department

Name of Company
Address
City, State, Zip Code

Dear Sir or Madam:

I am writing to dispute the following information in my file. I have circled the items I dispute on the attached copy of the report I received.

This item (identify item(s) disputed by name of source, such as creditors or tax court, and identify type of item, such as credit account, judgment, etc.) is (inaccurate or incomplete) because (describe what is inaccurate or incomplete and why). I am requesting that the item be removed (or request another specific change) to correct the information.

Enclosed are copies of (use this sentence if applicable and describe any enclosed documentation, such as payment records, court documents) supporting my position. Please reinvestigate this (these) matter(s) and (delete or correct) the disputed item(s) as soon as possible.

Sincerely,
Your name

Enclosures: (List what you are enclosing.)

* Source: Federal Trade Commission

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