DIY Identity-Theft
Protection: A 12-Step Program
You don't have to spend $100 to $200 a year to
defend yourself from identity theft at the level of
protection that a paid service offers. You can do
almost everything the services do, for free. But
following these steps will require time and effort.
- Get a free copy of your credit report by
visiting AnnualCreditReport.com. Don't be
fooled by look-alike sites that promise free
reports if you subscribe to their
credit-monitoring services. Better yet, order by
phone at 877/322-8228.
- For DIY credit monitoring, order a free
report every three months from a different
bureau. Scan the report for unfamiliar
information, such as accounts you don't remember
opening.
- Place a fraud alert on your credit report by
calling one of the credit bureaus. (You can find
contact information for all three bureaus by
browsing to
the Fight Identity Theft Web site.)
- Put a recurring event in your online
calendar to remind you to renew your fraud alert
in 90 days.
- Tell the bureaus to stop selling your
information to credit services, by calling
888/567-8688 or
visiting OptOutPrescreen.com. Doing so will
reduce but not eliminate the number of
preapproved credit card offers you receive.
- Request
a free public records report from ChoicePoint
. You'll have to print a form and mail it, along
with copies of your driver's license and proof
of address. Scan the report for addresses and
other details not related to you.
- Take your name off other marketing lists by
signing up for
ProQuo.com's free service. In some
instances, you may have to mail letters or
navigate to a marketer's own site to complete
your opt-out request.
- Buy a mailbox that locks, or use a post
office box. This will help prevent thieves from
stealing your identity via paper mail.
- Buy a crosscut paper shredder and shred junk
mail to frustrate dumpster-diving identity
thieves.
- Never click a link from an e-mail message to
log in to your bank or to any other financial
institution. Type the secure site's address into
your browser, bookmark it, and use that link to
access your accounts. Otherwise, you risk having
your identity stolen by phishers.
- If you believe that you are a victim of
identity theft,
contact the Identity Theft Resource Center.
Volunteers there can walk you through the
process of restoring your identity.
- Get educated.
Mari Frank's IdentityTheft.org, the
Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, and the
Federal Trade Commission maintain huge
libraries of information on how to avoid being
victimized, and what to do if it has already
happened.
- MSMBC.com had an article on stopping junk
mail. I went to the msmbc.com website and
searched for the following link that was in an
article I read.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18530707/