Information and Tools Against Spam, Sales Calls & ID Theft
YES YOU CAN Stop Annoying Sales Calls!
Contacts and Resources
If your efforts to have inaccurate information removed from your credit report fail, make sure to copy this Consumer Rights Organization on all your communications with the credit card and credit reporting agencies:
Helpful Links
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Topics on this page:
- Stop Sales Call (to the right right)
- ID Theft by Mail
- How to Get The Free Annual Credit Report & Tips for Disputing Incorrect Information on your Credit Report
- Stop E-mail Spam & E-mail Fraud
- The Threat of Viruses / Worms / Spyware - Viruses can cause loss of data and can even allow others access to your personal information. There are things you can do to protect yourself ...
ID Theft by Mail: Protect Your Identity & Credit Rating
The problem: Unsolicited “prescreened” offers for credit and insurance that may not only be sent to your current address, but also to former addresses -- thus making it easy for strangers / unauthorized persons to open a credit card in your name and ruin your credit in the process.
Below are two ways of addressing this problem.
- You may opt out with the nationwide credit bureaus at 1 888 5OPTOUT (1 888 567 8688).
- Companies must include a toll-free phone number you can call if you choose to remove your name and address from the lists these offers are based on.
- If you divulged personal Information: If you believe you have mistakenly given your personal information to a fraudster, file a complaint at ftc.gov, and then visit the Federal Trade Commission’s Identity Theft website at ftc.gov/idtheft to learn how to minimize your risk of damage from a potential theft of your
identity.
How To Receive the Annual Free Credit Report You Are Legally Entitled to & Dispute Inaccurate Information:
The Fair Credit Reporting Act requires each of the nationwide consumer reporting companies – Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion – to provide you with a free copy of your credit report, at your request, once every 12 months. (Note: Residents of the Georgia are legally entitled to two (2) free credit reports a year. )
Many websites claim to offer “free credit reports,” “free credit scores,” or “free credit monitoring.” But, be careful. These sites are not part of the official annual free credit report program. Some sites sign you up for a supposedly “free” service that converts to one you have to pay for after a trial period ends. If you don’t cancel during the trial period, you may be agreeing to let the company start charging fees to your credit card.
The Federal Trade Commission, the nation’s consumer protection agency, wants you to know that, if you want to order your free annual credit report online, there is only one authorized website: annualcreditreport.com.
- To Order the TRULY Free Annual Credit Report that you are legally entitled to ...
- Visit annualcreditreport.com
- Please note that this website will take you to the websites of the different credit reporting agencies and those put the information in a way that you have to LOOK to find your FREE credit report links, enticing you to pay for monitoring and additional services instead. Spend a few minutes going over the webpages and make sure to click on the free credit report link. Make sure you do not provide your credit card information. You shouldn't have to do so to get your free credit report. I went through the process and was able to finally get the information I wanted - without paying a cent.
- Call toll-free: 1-877-322-8228
- Mail your completed Annual Credit Report Request Form to:
Annual Credit Report Request Service
P.O. Box 105281
Atlanta, GA 30348-5281
- Visit annualcreditreport.com
If you have been a victim of an identity theft and have debts popping in on your credit report that don't belong to you, or you have to deal with the remnants of a former marriage or relationship (joint accounts - refer to the below) that impacted your credit rating - you know how difficult and frustrating it is to correct that information.
Joint Accounts - BIG MISTAKE! The most valuable advice I can give you is about "joint accounts." Credit companies LOVE joint accounts because if one person doesn't pay for whatever reason, they legally can and will go after the other. After a "separation of ways" / divorce, whatever, do make sure to close those accounts or at least take yourself off those accounts. Even if you know your former partner / spouse is a responsible person who pays off his or her debts diligently.
- To put it crudely: If he or she gets run over by a bus tomorrow - or has a stroke or some other condition that prevents them from working - you will be responsible for his or her debts.
- If you are divorced YOU will have to prove that all debts have been incurred AFTER your divorce. A lot of time, effort and money is going to go into proving that and having that information taken off your records. If you were just "separated" - not divorced -- tough luck. You will be responsible for the other person's debt.
- Conclusion: Nobody knows what the future will bring ... a simple call to get your name off a joint account can save you a lot of problems, and potential financial hardship, in the future ... Better yet, keep your credit separate.
- Know Your RIGHTS!
- I have recently had an episode of a credit problem. Even though my credit rating has always been in the upper 700s, in the last years even over 800. I am debt-free and pay off my credit cards every month. And yet, all of a sudden my credit rating dropped, and I found negative entries on my credit report that I didn't know anything about. In fact, I found a "current" home address listed on my credit report in a state that I have never lived in. When trying to correct that address, the credit reporting agencies advised me that that was not possible. The address correction had to be made by the SOURCE!! I have never even heard anything as absurd as that. First of all, I didn't KNOW the source and that information wasn't listed in the credit report. Second of all, whatever source it is -- they are talking about MY CURRENT home address!!!! If I advise them of a mistake in the credit report as basic as listing an incorrect home address (which already suggests ID theft), then I should be able to correct it. Right? It should be a straight forward matter. They have my social security number, my current address is associated with that social security number. That should be it! Anyhow, it took me months and lots of frustration, but I am close to having it all sorted out. On the bright side -- I learned a lot.
- The most important things to remember:
- According to the Fair Credit Billing Act, creditors have to send you statements to make you aware of any debts before it affects your credit. If they don't do that, they are violating the law.
- According to the Fair Credit Reporting Act, creditors have to give you written notice that they have or are intending to submit negative information about you to the national credit reporting agencies. If they don't do that, they are also violating the law. Knowing this is going to give you leverage when negotiating with those guys.
- If they violate those basic rights, you are entitled to sue for the damages, specifically you can seek up to $1,000 in statutory damages, plus actual damages, punitive damages and reasonable attorney's fees and costs for willful noncompliance with the Act (§ 602 - 15 U.S.C. § 1681). Of course, first you should try work with them to resolve it. If they don't -- then by all means you have the right to sue them for damages.
- Recommended Resources:
- FCRA Information : Summary of Rights
- Federal Trade Commission: Credit Reports & Scoring -- Know your rights!
Stop E-mail Spam & E-mail Fraud:
- Install anti-junk mailfilters,
- Check with your Internet provider - most of them provide a spam filter free of charge.
- Alternatively, you could download a software, such as Spamfighter - which blocks spam from your Microsoft Outlook or Outlook Express inbox.
- Report E-mail Fraud and Spam to the Federal Trade Commission by forwarding the entire e-mail to spam@uce.gov.
- Recommendation: Adding this e-mail address to your Outlook address book will make it easy for you to forward unwanted e-mail to the Federal Trade Commission. Every time you forward junk to them, you help in the fight against those spammers.
- E-mails that Appear to Come from Banks / Financial Institutions - any domain that maintains your credit and personal information:
- How it works: A legitimate web page is reproduced in "look and feel" on another server under control of the attacker. The intent is to fool the users into thinking that they are connected to a trusted site, for instance to harvest user names and passwords.
- Recommendations:
- Do not log in / provide personal information in your e-mail. If you receive an e-mail that "your banking information" (for example) needs to be updated and it's an institution you are a member of - get out of the e-mail and log into your account from your browser. Never ever from the e-mail, which will harvest your personal and financial information for their financial gain and your loss.
- Report it! Most banks / institutions have a "spoof" e-mail address in place, in this format:
- spoof@ebay.com
- spoof@paypal.com
- spoof@yourbank.com
Phishing is a form of fraud designed specifically to steal your identity.
You can't be sure that an email is valid based on the sender’s email address.
Don’t trust an email address. It’s pretty easy to alter and is not an indication of whether the email is real or not.
E-mails that appear to come from a reputable financial institution (bank, credit card company, e-bay, paypal) that ask you to provide personal information:
The sender is trying to steal your identity by tricking you into revealing your password or other personal information. Criminals may make up fake stories that are designed to lure you into clicking a link or button in the e-mail or calling a phone number to get your personal / website log-in / financial information.
Do not provide personal information such information as your full name, password, driver's license number, social security number, credit and debit card numbers, pin numbers or bank account numbers to anyone over e-mail or on the phone - unless you KNOW you are talking to your bank / financial institution; you initiated the call with the number that you know to be the correct number (the number on the back of the credit card or on your bank statement, etc.)
Many phishing emails have links that look valid, but send you to fraudulent sites instead. Do not click on these links but open the browser and go to your bank's / credit card's other institution that you are a member / client of and log in from there.
Divulged Personal Information: If you believe you have mistakenly given your personal information to a fraudster, file a complaint at ftc.gov, and then visit the Federal Trade Commission’s Identity Theft website at ftc.gov/idtheft to learn how to minimize your risk of damage from a potential theft of your
identity.
The Threat of Viruses / Worms / Spyware:
Everybody nowadays needs an anti-virus software, such as Norton's, MacAfee, etc. Even if you don't open suspect e-mails, some websites run javascripts programs that will automatically install viruses on your computer just by opening a webpage. Your primary defense is an anti-virus software. However, you can't rely on this only -- as new virus versions are coming out daily ...
It's important to never open attachments or run software from an e-mail unless you know what it is (such as expecting a Word document from a co-worker, for example). E-mails from reputable institutions do usually not contain attachments or software. If in doubt, call a telephone number of the institution that you trust to be correct / legitimate.
Recently my PC was infected by the Baxter worm. I mistyped a website url that I frequently visit (a merchant account) and all of a sudden, things went terribly wrong. I had ugly "bugs" crawling over my screen. Pop up windows opening every second. I run Nortons and it cleared my computer as being "bug free" -- well, it wasn't. I did some research and found out that this virus actually enables outsiders access to my confidential information. Scary for sure. Someone on a forum recommended PC Tools. I installed it and it cleaned up my computer in minutes - it actually found another serious virus as well ... Below is the link for more information. I can't recommend it enough.
- PC Tools Internet Security includes Spyware Doctor AntiSpyware, AntiVirus, Firewall Plu and Spam protection
