Georgia Watch - Protecting Consumers, Promoting Transparency, Empowering Citizens » ID Theft

Atlanta organizations join forces to “fight identity theft”

admin — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 19:40:21 +0000

A coalition of organizations, including Georgia Watch, begins an initiative fighting back against one of the fasting growing crimes in the nation. Atlanta Victim Assistance, Inc. leads the campaign dubbed Project SAFE, to raise public awareness about identity theft..

Following a news conference on August 17th at Atlanta City Hall, the new “Fight Identity Theft” campaign of Project SAFE kicked off, revealing a series of vivid print ads, posters and online materials depicting real life victims of identity theft in boxing gloves. The one-time victims have become “victors” by taking action against identity thieves and refusing to be “victims”.

“Many different organizations have been working diligently to prevent identity theft,” AVA Executive Director Brenda Muhammad said. “But we’ve realized that we can help more people by combining our efforts and that’s why we’re sending out a call to arms to the entire Atlanta community. AVA is ready to team up with any responsible partner who answers that call.”

Georgia Watch has conducted identity theft workshops at locations across the state – including military bases – empowering thousands of Georgians with educational materials and tools to fight this crime.

The organization will continue to raise awareness about credit freeze, the only viable form of protection from new account fraud, as the “Fight Identity Theft” progresses. Credit freeze is the only effective, proactive tool to stop new account fraud, one of the most damaging forms of identity theft. A freeze allows consumers to bar access to their credit files with the three major credit reporting agencies (CRAs), prohibiting identity thieves from fraudulently opening new accounts or lines of credit in a victim’s name.

“Georgia Watch and Clark Howard fought to pass affordable credit freeze in 2008 and succeeded,” Georgia Watch Executive Director Angela Speir Phelps said. “We are dedicated to protecting Georgians from financial harm caused by thieves seeking to destroy credit and peace of mind. We are thrilled to join Project Safe – this is invaluable work being done by a formidable coalition.”

Visit Project SAFE online for more information.

Protect against ID theft with a credit freeze

admin — Tue, 19 May 2009 20:36:24 +0000

Credit freeze is the only effective, proactive tool to stop new account fraud, one of the most damaging forms of identity theft. A freeze allows consumers to bar access to their credit files with the three major credit reporting agencies (CRAs), prohibiting identity thieves from fraudulently opening new accounts or lines of credit in a victim’s name.

Credit freezes are $3 for all Georgia citizens and are FREE to all seniors 65+ and victims of identity theft with a valid police report.

In order to request this service, you must send a letter by certified mail to each of the three credit reporting agencies containing:

* $3 payment via check or money order
* Name
* Address
* Date of birth
* Social Security number
* A copy of a government-issued identification card, such as a driver’s license, state or military ID card.
* One copy of a utility bill, bank or insurance statement. Credit card statements, voided checks, lease agreements, magazine subscriptions and postal service forwarding are not accepted as proof.
* A copy of a valid police report, if you are a victim of identity theft.

Send your request via certified mail to all three credit reporting agencies:

Equifax Security Freeze
P.O. Box 105788
Atlanta, Georgia 30348

Experian Security Freeze
P.O. Box 9554
Allen, TX 75013

TransUnion Fraud Victim Assistance Department
P.O. Box 6790
Fullerton, CA 92834

You can also freeze your credit online by going to each bureau’s website and following the directions.
– Equifax
– Experian
– TransUnion

Facts about identity theft

admin — Tue, 19 May 2009 20:07:29 +0000

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) estimates that there are 263,000 individual incidents of identity theft in Georgia each year, which ranks seventh in the nation in victims per capita. The financial cost to the victim is more than $1,000 per incident of identity theft, in addition to countless hours of letter writing and phone calls. The cost to business is more than $10,000 per incident.

In 2008:

There were 656 reported data breaches in the US, reflecting an increase of 47 percent since 2007.

Breaches took place at national companies such as Pepsi, Vonage and RBS Group. One of the largest leaks to place at Countrywide, where the personal information of 2,000,000 Americans was hacked.

There were 15 data breaches reported in Georgia alone, exposing the personal identification information of 300,000 Georgians. Click here to see a full list.

Georgia legislators passed a bill that gives Georgia consumers the option of credit freeze for the low cost of $3. The fee is waived for age 65 and older, and for victims of identity theft.

New account fraud occurs when an identity thief uses a victim’s name and SSN to apply for new credit. Legislatures in 39 states and the District of Columbia have responded by enacting credit freeze laws that allow consumers to stop credit reporting agencies from releasing their credit file. For example:

A thief steals John Doe’s personal information and applies for new credit in Doe’s name. The creditor contacts Equifax, Experian or TransUnion for information on Doe’s credit worthiness. If Doe has placed a credit freeze on his account, the reporting companies must refuse to release any information, leaving the thief empty-handed.

Although a credit freeze cannot stop abuse in existing accounts, it is the single most effective tool against new account fraud. In fact, credit freeze is the only way to stop new account fraud before it starts.

Georgia authorized this protection for its citizens on August 2008. This effective legislation made credit freeze inexpensive, convenient and accessible. It gives consumers control over their credit files and personal identifying information, and prevents new account fraud altogether.

How can my identity be stolen?

admin — Tue, 12 May 2009 19:28:41 +0000

Malware programs steal personal data online. These programs climbed to more than 1.2 million this year from 135,000 in 2007.
90 percent of malware programs are designed to grab personal information like SSNs and credit cared numbers from online sites that are not protected with spyware.
Consumers expose themselves to malware by downloading attachments or clicking links in emails.
Theives find information by looking through the trash, filling out postal change of address forms in the victims name and hacking into online records.
After obtaining personal information, a theif may commit new account fraud, which occurs when an identity thief uses a victim’s name and SSN to apply for new credit.