Identity Theft Protection Blog

By the AllClearID Team

Jamie here, Chief Investigator at AllClear ID. Recently, I had the opportunity to speak at the Jump$tart National Educator Conference in Washington, DC. Jump$tart is a national organization “dedicated to improving the financial literacy of pre-kindergarten through college-age youth by providing advocacy, research, standards, and educational resources.”

In the presentation I discussed our research on Child Identity Theft alongside the FTC who issued some tips on limiting the risks of Identity Theft. These pointers revolved around sharing information with an entity you likely regard as safe: your child’s school. Here’s an overview of the FTC’s tips:

• Contact the school: Find out who has access to your child’s personal information, and ensure that the records are stored safely.
• Think twice before filling out forms with personal information: Before you fill forms out consider how the information will be used, whether or not it will be shared, and who will have access. Then decide if filling out the information is necessary.
• Know your rights under FERPA: The Family Educational Rights Privacy Act (FERPA) protects the privacy of education records, and gives parents the right to review their child’s education records, consent to disclosure of information, and correct errors.
• Ask your child’s school about its directory information policy: FERPA requires schools to notify parents about the directory policy, and gives parents the right to opt out of releasing directory information. While you may not be worried about other parents and students having your child’s contact information, if you don’t opt-out or inquire about the school’s policies, information may also be available to the general public.
• Obtain a copy of your schools survey policy: The Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment (PPRA) gives parents the right to see surveys and instructional materials before they are distributed to your child.
• Take precaution when dealing with programs at school: Programs that take place at schools, but aren’t sponsored by them also have access to your child’s information. Read their privacy policies and understand how your child’s information will be used, stored, and shared.
• Take action in the case of a breach: If you believe there’s been a data breach at your child’s school contact the school to learn more. Keep a written record of your conversations, and write a letter to the appropriate administrator or school board. The U.S. Department of Education’s Family Policy Compliance Office takes complaints about school breaches.

For more child identity protection tips read our blog or visit our child identity theft page.

Views expressed are the personal views of the author and do not represent the views of the National Foundation for Credit Counseling, its employees, its members, or its clients.

By the AllClearID Team

Juan here from the AllClear ID investigation team. Consumers who are at risk of losing their homes to foreclosure are being targeted and victimized by foreclosure “rescue” services. These services bill themselves as being able to weed through mortgage contracts and paperwork to look for errors and unscrupulous practices by lenders. According to them these findings would then be brought to light and corrected, possibly allowing owners to keep their homes. However, they typically just gather consumer information, take the initial payment of fees for the service, and then disappear. Or even worse, as this Business Week story shows, they’ll have an unsuspecting customer sign away the deed to his home.

The scammers pose as legitimate companies that exist solely to assist consumers who may lose their homes. Since they have no way of finding out whose mortgage is in danger (that is, they cannot search or weed through contracts or loans) they put out the bait (you’ve probably seen ads like “Stop Foreclosure. Call Us NOW!!!” around your own neighborhood) to have nervous, scared consumers contact them.

Given the current financial landscape these thieves have their primary targets. They seem to be most prominent in regular, middle-class neighborhoods.  The crime starts with a phone call; they explain the fees and state that payment must be taken right away. Once the payment is made they ask for either mortgage records, or personal info. The criminals then begin using that information online – either to establish credit, or selling it to identity thieves.

If you’re looking to get help with your home loan beware of offers by so-called “forensic loan auditors”, “mortgage loan auditors”, or “foreclosure prevention auditors” to review your mortgage loan documents. There’s a big chance that it’s nothing but a scam. They cannot guarantee that anyone will keep their home. In fact, they don’t even make an effort to help. It is just a clever way to lure nervous, emotional consumers to give up personal information and pay hundreds or thousands of dollars for false hope.

The Federal Trade Commission offers good information about mortgage frauds, and the newest twist to those, forensic mortgage loan audits. Read their articles to spot the telltale signs of these scams, and how to find legitimate help.

For more up-to-date information on popular scams, check out AllClear ID’s OnCall Stories.

Views expressed are the personal views of the author and do not represent the views of the National Foundation for Credit Counseling, its employees, its members, or its clients.

By the AllClear ID Team

Chris here with the AllClear ID Investigation team. Identity thieves are placing credit card skimming devices everywhere, but particularly on gas pumps, and as we wrote earlier, on outdoor ATMs.

These devices are small and hard for the typical person to detect, but they can be financially lethal. Skimmers are designed to capture credit card information when one is scanned through for a purchase, and then they either transmit the information via a Bluetooth device to a nearby laptop, or store it locally for the thief to pick up at a later date. This information can then be used online, or uploaded onto a blank card for making purchases.

Skimmer devices are made to look exactly like the regular card scanner that is already on the ATM or gas pump, and they attach perfectly to the face of the machine. Most people never even notice that there is anything different with the machine they’re using. The skimmer doesn’t stop you from making your purchase or ATM transaction so everything works as usual. This makes it that much harder for the victim to realize anything is wrong.

Skimmers are typically made overseas then shipped to the US so the equipment is fairly easy to find and purchase online. You can actually Google “Credit Card Skimmer For Sale” and find multiple websites that sell the equipment.

Almost anyone with criminal intent could use this type of scam because it’s very easy to pull off without getting caught. As a low-risk, high-reward crime it attracts criminals even more. They can take your credit information when you stop to get gas on your way to work in the morning, and steal hundreds or thousands of dollars from your account by the time you get home that evening.

A scam like this can and does happen all over the country, but the highest concentration of cases the AllClear ID investigation team sees occur in Southern California, Arizona, and Miami.

What can you do to protect yourself from skimming? Be cautious any time you use the Pay-at–the-Pump option at gas stations or an outdoor ATM. It is always safer to go inside the gas station and pay at the desk or use indoor ATMs for bank transactions because it’s harder for criminals to tamper with an indoor machine.

Also, it’s easier to catch fraudulent activity on your accounts early before too much damage is done. While most banks and credit card companies attempt to notify you of suspicious charges on your account they don’t always catch everything. The best thing you can do is regularly check your statements, and immediately notify your bank or credit card issuer of any fraudulent charges.

Views expressed are the personal views of the author and do not represent the views of the National Foundation for Credit Counseling, its employees, its members, or its clients.

By the AllClearID Team

Jamie here, Chief Investigator at AllClear ID. Child Identity theft can be a devastating experience that affects about 10% of children. This crime often goes undetected for years allowing thieves time to build a complicated web of open accounts and debts that can be difficult to resolve. When child identity theft victims enter the world as young adults, their dreams are often at risk or delayed due to poor credit and other fraudulent activity.

Unfortunately, many children tend to uncover child ID theft when it’s too late like applying for student loans, car loans, apartment leases, and mortgage applications.  They are forced to sort out these problems instead of focusing on their future.  Here are some stories of a few child ID theft victims’ struggle before turning to AllClear ID for assistance.

Hanna: When nineteen-year-old Hanna was preparing for college she applied for her first bank card.  Her application was promptly rejected because the bank’s credit check found roughly $16, 000 in debt attributed to her Social Security number.  This discovery and all the required clean up impacted her ability to apply for student loans for her first year of college.

Stephanie: After the application for her first credit card was denied in 2001, Stephanie, a recent college grad, requested a copy of her credit files to investigate. She was shocked to receive a report inches thick, and filled with mortgages, car loans, cell phone bill collections, and credit card debt dating back to when she was only 12 years old.   Stephanie attempted to resolve these issues on her own, but continued to struggle with the effects of the theft into her 30s. She was even turned down for a mortgage on her first home because of these problems.

Jaleesa: When Jaleesa turned 21 last year she applied for her first credit card and was turned down. Upon checking her credit report she noticed that an account was opened when she was 17 and in foster care. The account was in default, ruining her credit.  This problem put her plans on hold.  She knew getting her own apartment after graduation would have to wait until her identity and clean credit was restored.

It is important to resolve these issues before they negatively impact your child’s future.  Here are my tips to protect your children.

Views expressed are the personal views of the author and do not represent the views of the National Foundation for Credit Counseling, its employees, its members, or its clients.

By the AllClearID Team

George here from the AllClear ID investigation team. If you’ve reviewed your free annual credit report and something looks off it may not necessarily be identity theft. A very common error at credit bureau agencies is the addition of inaccurate information on a consumer’s credit card, meaning more and more accounts are being reported to the wrong credit report. That type of error is called file contamination, or a “mixed file.”

How does this happen? Very easily, unfortunately, and both creditors and the credit bureaus can be at fault. When creditors do a credit inquiry or collection agencies report an account to the credit bureaus, they don’t need a SSN, only a name and home address. Very common names have a higher tendency to be incorrectly associated with another person with the same name or a similar address. Examples are a Joe Smith who lives in Los Angeles, or a Bill Johnson Sr. and a Bill Johnson Jr. who live in the same town.

This means that if you find an incorrect variation of your name or a wrong address on your credit file, your file may be contaminated. In the case where negative accounts are reported, your credit score will take a dent through no fault of your own.  You may think fraudsters are plying identity theft when in fact it’s simply a credit reporting agency or one of your creditors making a clerical error.

If you have a common name, or you’re a Junior or Senior in your family, you must take precautions to just use one deviation of spelling your name. And be sure to obtain a copy of your credit report at least once a year, or one to two months prior to applying for credit so you can catch and fix mistakes in time.

Check the personal information section of your credit report from all three credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian and TransUnion).  It should include your name and any other past versions of your name, including a marriage-related name change. If you have applied for credit in the past under a different name, and that name is not listed, it may be a warning that your file is split. If your report shows your name with a different middle initial, that should alert you that your file may be mixed with someone else’s. Also be sure to check that all previous addresses are accurate. A listed address that you did not live at is a red flag that your file may be mixed. An old address that is not listed at all may also be a warning sign.

It’s important to check all three credit reports because creditors may not report to all of them; debts from smaller creditors may only be reported to one reporting bureau, while larger debts, such as home mortgages, are typically reported to all three.  And don’t forget, you have the right to a copy of 1 report from each credit bureau once a year, so you should be able to check for error for free.

A small difference in your credit scores from each credit bureau is normal; a big difference, more than 30 points or so, may be an indication your credit file is mixed.

If an AllClear ID customer discovers inaccurate information on their credit file, we prepare “blocking letters,” requesting the credit bureaus correct the information and provide the customer with an updated credit report. These letters are mailed to the credit bureaus via certified mail, paid by us, along with other pertinent personal documentation. After receiving a blocking letter, credit bureaus have 30 days to make the correction and respond to the customer.

Views expressed are the personal views of the author and do not represent the views of the National Foundation for Credit Counseling, its employees, its members, or its clients.

By the AllClearID Team

Vanessa here with AllClear ID. We recently went over how college students can be an easy target for identity theft, but a recent survey of college students in the United Kingdom reveals the scope of this problem.  The survey, conducted by the British Government, asked college students about how they protected their online privacy. Ultimately, it found that most were failing to adequately protect themselves against the threat of identity theft.

A third of the surveyed students who had lived at a previous address while in school still hadn’t had their mail forwarded to their current address. Over three quarters of them hadn’t checked their credit score in the past year; two-thirds of them had never checked it, meaning they were totally unaware if their credit history was being compromised.

While that report is from across the pond the results would probably be the same if that survey was taken here in the US. As we’ve posted often on our blog, children and teenagers are being targeted by identify-theft scammers nearly as often as adults. And college students can make easy prey for identity thieves because they are like blank canvases – their credit reports are mostly blank, so they can be easily used to secure new credit.

ScamBusters.org, a nonprofit focused on identity theft protection, offers some good advice for college students to protect themselves.

• Keep your personal information under lock and key, and shred your old records. This is especially important if you have roommates as they have easy access to your mail and personal documents, making it possible for them to sabotage or duplicate your identity.
• Keep your computer information and access secure. If you’ve already shared a password with someone else, change it, and do so regularly. Don’t choose a password that might be obvious for someone who knows you to guess.  If you’re using a public or school computer make sure you log out of any online service or email account when you’re done.
• Keep your personal and financial information confidential. Roommates, study partners, and co-workers could learn a lot about you from your casual conversations. Don’t announce a new credit card or your PIN for ATM access to a group of friends. Don’t leave examples of your signature lying around. Details about your parent’s job or your sibling’s experiences should be kept confidential. Don’t leave a door open for later identity theft because of your willingness to confide.
• Conduct personal business privately. Don’t jot down passwords or other private information where others can find them. Lock up all your student loan and financial aid correspondence and other similar paperwork. Anything with your name, address, Social Security number, and phone number should be for your eyes only.

Read the rest of ScamBuster.org’s advice for college students to protect themselves. Also, be sure to check out the US Department of Education’s advice on why college students should care about protecting their privacy.

Views expressed are the personal views of the author and do not represent the views of the National Foundation for Credit Counseling, its employees, its members, or its clients.

By the AllClearID Team,

Vanessa here with AllClear ID. Check out this site. Seems legitimate and professional, doesn’t it? Now click on any link on that website. You’ll see that it’s a totally fake website – actually created by the Federal Trade Commission – to show how easy it is to get entangled in an internet scam by a so-called online loan company.

We’ve discussed before how those with poor credit are often targets for loan scams, but this website really drives home just how easy it is for a scammer to create a professional-looking website and promise loans to those who’ve had credit issues. And by applying for a bad-credit loan on one of these websites, you make yourself a prime target for identity theft.

Once you enter your personal information on one of these sites it can be used by or sold to anyone, anywhere. Sometimes sites will act as a “lead generator” and sell the information to other companies. Other times it will be a front for an advance fee loan company. You’ll be told you have been approved for a loan, but you need to pay the first few monthly payments upfront, or send an “insurance” fee before the funds will be sent to you.  If you pay, it’s unlikely you’ll see that promised loan, and you run the risk of someone using your personal or financial information to steal your identity.

According to the FTC, here are some red flags that can tip you off to a loan scam:

• A lender who isn’t interested in your credit history. Claims like “Bad credit? No problem” or “No hassle — guaranteed” often indicate a scam.
• Fees that are not disclosed clearly or prominently. Legitimate lenders disclose their fees clearly and prominently. They take their fees from the amount you borrow, and you pay those fees to them after the loan is approved.
• A loan that is offered by phone. It’s illegal for companies to promise you a loan by phone, and ask you to pay for it before the loan comes through.
• A lender who is not registered in your state. Lenders and loan brokers are required to register in the states where they do business. Checking registration does not guarantee that you will be happy with a lender, but it helps weed out the crooks.
• A lender who asks you to wire money or pay a particular person. Legitimate lenders don’t ask anyone to do that.

You also want to avoid giving lenders your bank account information or permission to withhold payments from your paycheck. If you do, you’ll most likely find an empty account or no paycheck.

It’s best to double-check any loan offer you receive with the Better Business Bureau to find out if the business can be trusted. It can tell you if other consumers have filed complaints, and it will try to verify the legitimacy of the purported lender.

If you have trouble qualifying for a loan, you do have options. There are nonprofit organizations in every state with trained credit counselors who help people with debt problems. Contact your local BBB for tips on selecting a trustworthy credit counselor.

Views expressed are the personal views of the author and do not represent the views of the National Foundation for Credit Counseling, its employees, its members, or its clients.

By the AllClearID Team,

Kelly here with AllClear ID. Cyber Monday, the online equivalent of Black Friday is next week. Over the past few years this “holiday” has steadily increased in popularity as more consumers turn to online shopping for the convenience and great deals. But how do you know if the sweet deal you found online is too good to be true? Here are a few tips to help you avoid becoming a victim of an online shopping scam this holiday season.

• Be especially careful when looking for hot items such as designer products, NorthFace, and Uggs: Many scammers will claim to sell the authentic versions of these products at steeply discounted prices. Sometimes these products will be counterfeits; other times the scammer will take all of your information and leave you scrambling to find another present for your friend.
•  Check for poor grammar & misspellings: An authentic retailer should not have any typos and should use proper grammar on their website.
• Check for a phone number: Many scam websites will only have a contact form or email address. This means that if an issue arises you will have no way to resolve it. If a phone number is listed make sure you call the number to ensure an employee answers.
• Check the domain: Enter the website name on Who Is to find information about the domain name. Two indications of a fraudulent website are recent creation dates and locations in foreign countries – especially in Asia.
• Make sure the site has a safe connection: If you go to purchase an item make sure pages that should be secured (those in which you enter personal information and pay) have an https connection. This ensures that the information you enter cannot be easily obtained by 3^rd parties.

For more tips on how to avoid scams this holiday season check out last year’s blog about staying safe when shopping in store.

Views expressed are the personal views of the author and do not represent the views of the National Foundation for Credit Counseling, its employees, its members, or its clients.

By the AllClearID Team,

Juan here from AllClear ID’s investigation team. Investigator George recently discussed how shopping for cars or homes could lead to a dip in your credit score, but another thing I’ve noticed that causes multiple, hard inquiries into people’s credit reports is mortgage audits. That’s a review of mortgage-related documents signed by the borrower on the day of closing. The audit focuses on disclosure violations of federal law, commission violations, and calculation errors. Essentially, it’s a random, mandated review of a homeowner’s paperwork to make sure the lender followed the laws and behaved ethically in drafting and calculating the loan. A mortgage audit is not required by law; however, the laws are written in a way to allow the consumer to request one for their mortgage contract.

Some lenders require mortgage audits to ensure quality, while others are done at the request of the consumer or an outside agency.  If mortgage audits are required by a lender, they can be randomized. That means neither clients nor lenders know when they’ll be audited, and we’re uncertain as to how they are selected.

Many mortgage audits are done at the request of the consumer, usually those who are close to foreclosure.  But, as this Bankrate story points out, they often are more trouble than they’re worth, and they often don’t help a distressed homeowner hold onto his house.

Also keep in mind that mortgage audits do have a large effect on credit ratings because they are typically “hard pulls,” meaning they are credit inquiries initiated by the consumer. A hard pull typically lowers your credit score by a few points for six months or so. Furthermore, the lender is rarely used as the puller of the files.  Audits are usually done by a third-party company at the request of an outside agency so if a consumer sees an unfamiliar corporate name on his credit report requesting his credit history it may be that he is the focus of a mortgage audit.

Consumers can hire an accredited firm to do a forensic audit and search for errors and  predatory or illegal practices. But beware of who you hire. As I mentioned in a recent post, consumers who are at risk of losing their homes are being targeted and victimized by foreclosure “rescue” services, who steal their money, and even their homes. If you are interested in doing a mortgage audit , or need other help related to home foreclosure, the Federal Trade Commission recommends contacting HOPE NOW, an alliance of mortgage industry members and government-certified counseling agencies.

Views expressed are the personal views of the author and do not represent the views of the National Foundation for Credit Counseling, its employees, its members, or its clients.