There is a way to protect yourself against identity theft in the form of a consumer statement because I just did this myself. You can narrow down specific creditors and a geographical locations to only were credit is to be approved. I talked to someone at one of the credit bureaus who indicated that I am some kind of genius and that everyone should have done this in the first place. Then I showed the consumer statement from the report to a couple of vice presidents at my bank. Now they want to add the same thing to their credit reports.
ANY TYPE OF CREDIT CAN ONLY BE OBTAINED WITH TWO FORMS OF ID AND THE CONSUMER HAS TO WALK IN PERSON AT ONLY JOHN JONES FORD AND BANK OF NEVADA AND FIRST CREDIT UNION IN THE CAPPER VALLEY AREA OF MONTANA.
The names of the actual creditors have been changed. This is what the actual consumer statement looks like.
This type of consumer statement does two things. One, it states which specific creditors are to grant credit or accept the application. Two, it locks down the geographical area of were the consumer has authorized the listed creditors to grant credit. So let's say an identity thief tried to open an account other than the area listed on the statement. The creditor would deny the application and hopefully have the common sense to notify the police so that an arrest can be made.
A new federal all was just passed that will fine and hold accountable any business that ignores a fraud alert or a consumer statement. In additon the consumer can seek damages from the business that does ignore any alerts or statements.
Even if you have a credit freeze, eventually you may need to have the freeze lifted. This could be for as little as a day to as long as a week or a month. During that time you can be vulnerable to identity criminals. So this type of statement will help. Of course make sure that you are monitoring your credit reports as well.
Message Edited by CreditBob on 02-15-2009 01:35 PM
Message Edited by CreditBob on 02-15-2009 01:37 PM
Message Edited by CreditBob on 02-15-2009 01:40 PM
