YOUR MONEY Preventing ID Theft (NAPSA)—If you use credit cards, drive a car, have a bank account or just have a Social Secu- rity number, you could be at risk for identity theft. According to the Federal Trade Commission, more than 9 million people each year are victims of identify theft—one in every 25 Americans—resulting in costs to consumers and businesses of more than $50 billion annually. It’s a horror story that happens daily across the country. For example, Kathryn Lasater of San Jose, Calif., is a typical college sophomore with just enough in her savings account to cover rent and utilities every semester. You can imagine her surprise when she received a phonecall from a bank in Omaha, Nebraska, regarding a defaulted home loan taken in her name. Kathryn learned that someone had used her Social Security number to apply for and receive a home loan in her name. She spent the next six months making countless phone calls and penning dozens of letters to restore her good credit. Unfortunately, most people who commit identity fraud are never caught or penalized. While 1 IN 10 AMERICANS ARE VICTIMS OF IDENTITY THEFT IN THEIR LIFETIME ry Bn IS STOLEN EVERY 4 SECONDS IN THE US IN THE LAST 12 MONTHS OVER 50 MILLION CO] NEI 8) 1 Breate) AB: WERE LOST THE AVERAGE COST TO RESTORE A STOLEN IDENTITY $8000 Identity theft is a significant problem in the U.S. the problem of identity theft at its root. Retail industry lobbyists have begun to fight for changes in state and federal laws to protect consumers and merchants from fraud, but the credit card industry has opposed many of the requested the U.S. Secret Service investigates frauds over $2,000, most laws. Now Congress is considering this threshold. The single most effective way state laws to freeze their credit reports. This federal legislation, if credit card criminals stay below a bill that could deny consumers the rights they have underexisting for consumers to prevent ID theft passed, would effectively hand over is to “freeze” their credit with the nation’s three credit bureaus (Experian, TransUnion and Equifax). Once activated, a credit freeze prevents financial institu- tions from issuing any credit— including new credit cards—with- out the explicit permission of the consumer. Credit freezes, cur- rently available under state law in more than a dozen states, stop control of credit freeze to the credit bureaus. Consumer advocates are urging Americans to contact their members of Congress and ask them to oppose this legislation, currently known as HR 3997. Learn more about this issue and how you can protect your personal financial information at www.handsoff mycredit.com.
