Agencies provide ways to protect credit, identity
by Amos Goodall
Senior citizens have spent their entire lives building good credit, and they tend to be targeted as potential victims of identity theft. They often have excellent credit and may not realize their identities are being stolen.
Although many safeguards are in place, most people report that it's a nightmare to become the victim of identity theft and dig out from the mess created by identity thieves in restoring their good credit. Senior citizens are illsuited for these laborious and sometimes confrontational tasks.
Pennsylvania, along with many other states, recently passed a law allowing protection that everyone should consider - freezing their credit. By law, there is no cost for someone age 65 or older. People younger than 65 are required to pay a small fee, unless they have already been an identity theft victim. The major credit reporting agencies are Experian, Equifax and Trans-Union.
One of the classic methods of accomplishing the theft of someone else's identity and credit is to establish credit in that person's anem, using the good credit that the victim has developed to create new debts.
Pennsylvania allows you to "freeze" your credit records. A freeze prevents new creditors, and most often others, from having access to your account. A thief cannot gain access to these credit records to establish fraudulent accounts, and new creditors cannot either.
When your account is frozen, your existing creditors and their collection agencies still have access, others may use information to make offers of credit if you have not opted not to receive per-approval credit offers, and government agencies may have access to enforce orders, subpoenas or search warrants.
To freeze your credit file, send a letter by certified mail to each of the three credit bureaus. These bureaus must freeze an account within five days of receiving a request. This will prevent any unauthorized persons from finding out about your credit, a potential thief's first step to establish fraudulent credit in your name.
The letter needs to include your name, address for the past five years; social security number; date of birth; copies of a state-issued identification card, such as a driver's license; and proof of residence, such as a utility bill. None of these are usually returned, so a photocopy should be used.
Most people, apart from seniors and identity theft victims, will have to pay a fee of $10 to each agency. People who claim an exemption as a victim need to include a police report number. The age for the senior exemption is 65.
The credit freeze letter should be sent to each credit reporting agency at its address created for this purpose, and the letters should be sent by certified mail to prove that the agency received them. Sample letters with the agency addresses, based upon information supplied by the Pennsylvania Attorney General's Office are available at www.centrelaw.com. You may download these, fill in the blanks and send them. Each of the credit services also maintain Web sites and toll-free numbers for additional information about their credit-freeze programs.
It would be a good idea to request a copy of your credit report from each agency at the same time. You are entitled to a free report every year from each of the credit agencies. Some p0eople request these on a rotating basis from the three credit agencies, requesting one every four months from a different agency, on the theory that any credit theft will percolate through all three agencies' records. Each of the credit agencies maintains a specific address, toll-free number and Internet portal for these requests.
Once you have frozen your credit report, you have the right to unfreeze it if you want to apply for a new credit card, a vehicle loan or for any other reason, either for a limited time or on a permanent basis. Credit agencies will supply you with a personal indentification number for this.
In addition to freezing your credit, you may also stop many agencies from sending you pre-approved credit cards. You do this by calling 888-5OPT-OUT (888-567-8688) or by filing an online request at www.optoutprescreen.com. This will stop the pre-approved credit offers that get through credit bureaus. It is good for five years or can ben entered on a permanent basis. Only you may life this freeze to allow credit or a background check during the seven years that the freeze is in effect, although at least one agency charges a fee for this service for Pennsylvania residents who are not redit theft victims.