This is Part 1 of a two-part blog post on this topic, and Part 2 completing this post will be published in a few weeks.
Be on the lookout for identity theft by monitoring your financial account activity daily, monthly and annually
Are you safe from scammers? How would you know? Anyone can be victimized by fraud and identity theft, regardless of where you were born or live now, your age, your education or your occupation. Because of sophisticated, well-thought-out and practiced scams targeting individuals and security breaches of both big and small companies, any of us can fall victim to a fraudster getting our personal information, including credit card details and other sensitive financial account facts.
There are several ways to help guard against identity theft and lessen its effects if you think it may be about to occur or has already occurred. First, it could be very helpful to monitor your financial accounts regularly, ideally daily, monthly and annually. It doesn’t take much effort to keep up to date with your accounts’ status, and you can begin by…
- Having your credit card issuer send you a phone text every time a charge is made on your card.
- Setting up other automatic notices on other financial accounts. If this feature is offered with your accounts, have your savings, checking and other account providers email you a daily summary of the account holdings and message you every time an account withdrawal exceeds a certain amount, such as $200.
- Review your monthly and annual financial account statements for any discrepancies, such as unauthorized withdrawals, duplicate charges or purchases you never made.
- Learn about your credit reports. The three major national credit reporting companies (also known as bureaus or agencies) in the United States—Equifax®, Experian™ and TransUnion LLC—continuously collect your spending, credit, debt and other financial information during your life to compile your credit report. The credit report could be considered a summary of your monetary activities that then gives you a financial reputation. Other businesses then pay the various credit bureaus so they can use this information to help determine if you are a good potential customer for some of their goods and services. When they check your credit report, businesses are looking at if you pay your bills regularly and on time and the amount of debt you have in relation to income and assets; they want to decide if they consider you to be a good credit risk.
- At least annually review your credit reports. By U.S. law, it has been possible to obtain a copy of your credit report at no charge once a year from each of the three national credit reporting companies. To order your annual free credit report, go to the website annualcreditreport.com or call toll free at 877-322-8228. This website is the only site authorized by federal law to provide these free reports.
If you have worries that you soon will be—or are—a victim of fraud and identity theft, then have fraud alerts and credit freezes put on your credit reports.
Using fraud alerts on your credit reports
If you ask that a fraud alert be put on your credit reports, then any business (credit card issuer, bank, credit union, store, car dealership and others) must try to verify your identity before extending new credit or opening a new account. This identity check usually results in the store calling by phone to verify that you are actually at that business attempting to get credit or an account.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office for Victims of Crime, there are two types of fraud alerts available for accounts, an initial fraud alert and an extended fraud alert. According to the Department of Justice’s site, here are how the two different types of fraud alerts operate…
The features of an initial fraud alert are…
- Should be used if you think that your personal financial information may be at risk or if you are certain your financial details have already been compromised by a scammer.
- The alert is attached to your credit report for a minimum of 90 days.
- Any creditors that are approached for more credit or new accounts in your name become responsible under the law for using "reasonable policies and procedures" to verify your identity before they issue credit or open accounts under your name.
- You are entitled to order one free credit report from Equifax, Experian and TransUnion, and you may request that only the last four digits of your federal Social Security number appear on your credit reports.
As the name implies, an extended fraud alert lasts longer and also…
- The alert is attached to your credit reports for 7 years.
- You may have an extended fraud alert attached to your credit report if (1) you’ve already been a victim of identity theft and (2) you provide the credit reporting company with an Identity Theft Report from the U.S. government agency the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), which is one of several federal agencies that helps protect consumers from fraud.
- An FTC automated identity theft report or the printed ID Theft Complaint available from the FTC should be enough government documentation to request and receive an extended fraud alert.
- Potential creditors must first contact you directly—or meet with you in person—and have you provide government-issued identification, before they issue you credit or open accounts.
- The national credit reporting bureaus will take you off their marketing contact lists for unsolicited credit and insurance offers for 5 years, unless you request to remain on the lists. To opt out of such pre-approved offers, visit www.optoutprescreen.com.
- You will be entitled to two free credit reports within 12 months from each of the three national credit reporting agencies.
Contact Delta Community immediately if you’re worried about your accounts
- If you think your Delta Community accounts have been compromised, immediately contact our Member Care Center via our toll-free number at 800-544-3328 with whatever details you have, including dates, amounts of money, email messages, email addresses, text messages, phone numbers and names.
- Please remember that Delta Community will never call, text or email you to ask for your checking, savings, investment, ATM, debit or credit card account number or password, your telephone access (IVR) PIN, one-time passcode, or other confidential personal information.
This is the end of Part 1 of the post Help Prevent Identity Theft: Place a Fraud Alert, Credit Freeze or Block on Your Credit Reports; Part 2 is available in coming weeks.
Financial BALANCE™ is available to our members
BALANCE™ is a financial education and counseling organization that offers free services to Delta Community members. Some of its services include credit report reviews, debt management, and information on budgeting, money management and home buying.
Visit the BALANCE™ website to learn about their education and assistance programs. Members can also speak with certified credit and housing counselors to get personalized guidance.
Want to connect with a Financial Coach about your specific situation? Chat online email or call 888-456-2227 to speak with a Financial Coach today.
Note that the services offered through BALANCE™ are separate and distinct from any business conducted with Delta Community and are not guaranteed by, nor are they obligations of, the Credit Union.
More information on protecting yourself online and managing money is a blog post away
More information on protecting yourself and your accounts—along with financial guidance—is available from free Delta Community Financial Education Center webinars on many different money-related topics. You can visit the Financial Education Center's Events & Seminars page to register for its no-cost, on-demand webinars.
Delta Community’s blog and security posts have a lot of advice on handling online personal security:
