Identity Theft Guide
How protect myself from ID theft and what do you do if you’re a victim of ID theft- it seems scary?
The holidays are like a breeding ground for identity theft, especially with more people shopping online. A criminal can use your identity to get credit cards in your and your family's name (including your children), access your banking information or even buy cars and homes. Unfortunately, restoring a stolen identity and clearing fraudulent charges can take months or years. As working moms, we have enough to do rather than take on another job of cleaning up our credit because of criminal activity.
Javelin, a leading identity theft research team's 2020 Identity Fraud Study, revealed total identity fraud reached $16.9 billion in 2019. The fraud resulted in consumers facing $3.5 billion in out-of-pocket costs in 2019.
Use this guide to protect your family from identity theft by:
Taking steps to prevent identity theft
Checking for signs of identity theft
Immediately take action if you become the victim of identity theft
Taking Steps To Prevent Identity Theft
1. Choose one account to use for all online purchases.
Consider opening a separate account to use for online purchases. If you're following a budget, transfer the amount you've set aside for spending to an account earmarked for online spending.
If your account is compromised, at worst, you will only temporarily lose the amount in your spending account, not the amount that's needed to pay bills.
As a bonus, having the money earmarked for online spending may prevent overspending.
2. Use strong passwords and add an authentication step to protect your identity.
I know it can be a hassle coming up with new passwords, but remember, it's much tougher to clean up fraudulent charges than come up with a new password.
Password managers like Lastpass can create and store passwords online, a working mom's lifesaver if you continuously forget passwords.
Better yet, their basic account is free. You can add Lastpass to your browser so you can automatically log into websites.
3. Contact your financial institution to set up alerts to prevent identity theft.
Set up automatic banking account alerts. The alerts will inform you of various credit card or bank account activities.
This alert takes a few minutes to set up and may help you catch identity theft before damaging your finances.
4. Contact a credit bureau to place a credit freeze or credit lock on your account.
Credit Freeze
A credit freeze blocks new companies from accessing your family's credit reports. Since most creditors will not issue credit without seeing a credit report, a credit freeze may prevent fraudulent credit from being opened. Your current creditors and collection agencies can still access your credit report.
It's typically free to place the freeze and free to lift a freeze.
If you decide to freeze your credit, you may need to temporarily unfreeze your credit for the following reason:
Home purchase or getting a new apartment
Car purchase
New job
New cell phone service
Turning on utilities
An increasing number of parents are placing credit freezes on their children's accounts. Before you blow this off as paranoia, consider the Identity Theft Resource Center's report in 2017 that criminals stole over 1 million children's identities. ⅔ of the children whose identities were stolen were seven years old or younger.
You can quickly set up a credit freeze for you and your family by contacting all three credit bureaus: Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion. Unfreezing requires you to contact all three bureaus. The time it takes to unfreeze your credit depends on how you request the unfreezing. It may be as short as one hour if you request by phone or online.
Typically, credit freezes may be ideal for someone who experienced identity theft, someone who isn’t planning on getting new credit, or for minor children.
Credit Lock
If you like the idea of a credit freeze but want the ability to lock and unlock your credit report instantly, a credit lock may be an option.
A significant difference between a credit lock and a credit freeze is that credit freeze rules are guided by law, and credit lock rules are guided by contractual obligations between you and the company locking your credit.
The price for a credit lock varies. Read your contract carefully to make sure the service you want is the service you are getting.
Place a fraud alert if you've been a victim of theft, a data breach, or you are concerned that someone stole your personal information.
A fraud alert requires a business to verify your identity before giving credit, potentially stopping identity theft. You can contact one of the three credit bureaus and request a fraud alert. One credit bureau typically sends the alert to the other two credit bureaus.
Consumers can place a year-long fraud alert. The fraud alerts are free, and the FTC, the federal trade commission, walks you through how to set one up quickly. The fraud alert also allows you to request a free credit report from all three credit bureaus.
A fraud alert may be a consideration for someone who may be applying for credit often (home or car purchase) and doesn't want the hassle of continually freezing and unfreezing credit.
5. Sign up for identity theft and monitoring services
OK, identity theft and monitoring services may not prevent identity theft but may catch potential fraud before a criminal causes significant damage.
You can create a DIY credit self-monitor process by doing the following:
Set up activity alerts with your financial institutions. These alerts are worth their weight in gold. We have alerts on all of our accounts. Our bank immediately alerted us of suspicious activity. Because we found out as soon as it happened, we quickly resolved the fraud and have the funds returned to our account.
Schedule at least quarterly credit reviews for your family. Until April 2022, you can review your credit report weekly.
Be honest with yourself. As a busy working mom, do you have the time and mental energy to monitor your AND your family's credit and personal information? If not, look into identity theft and monitoring service for your family.
Before paying for service, find out if your pre-paid legal plan or financial accounts provide monitoring services. If you are a data breach victim, check to see if you are eligible for free monitoring services.
Companies like Credit Karma provide credit monitoring at no charge.
Websites like CNET review identity theft protection and monitoring services. As you do your research, check for services where you can monitor your entire family's personal and financial information.
6. Take your name off of marketers' lists.
Register to stop getting unwanted telemarketing calls either online at the Do-not-call registry or by calling 1-888-382-1222. Register to stop getting prescreened credit offers either online or by calling 1-888-567-8688.
It only takes a few minutes to register for both services. As a working mom, I know you have a lot going on, but taking a few minutes to do this now, is a future timesaver.
Checking for signs of identity theft
The following are warning signs that a cybercriminal may have stolen your identity:
Unexpected negative changes to your credit score
Accounts you don't recognize on your credit report
Unexplained debt collection notices or judgments
Your child getting credit cards or calls about missed payments
You try to freeze your child's credit and learn their social security number is in use
You can't e-file your tax returns
Unexplained medical claims or payments
Notification of an attempt to access your accounts you didn't open or try to access
A business denies you credit, but you have a good credit history
"Test charges" appear on your credit statement. These are small charges identity thieves will use, typically under $5, to test your account before making more expensive purchases.
If you've experienced any of these warning signs, immediately get a copy of your credit report from all three credit bureaus and review your information for fraudulent activities.
You should get a report from all three bureaus because credit bureaus may report different information.
Immediately take steps if you are the victim of identity theft.
1. As soon as you become aware of identity theft, do the following:
Contact your financial institution's fraud alert department to report the fraud.
Ask them to close/freeze your accounts.
Change your logins/passwords.
Place a one-year free fraud alert on all accounts through one of the three credit bureaus (the credit bureau typically sends the alert to the other credit bureaus).
Contact all three credit bureaus for your credit reports. You can check your credit report every week for free through April 2021.
Report the theft to the Federal Trade Commission, FTC, either online on IdentityTheft.gov or call 1-877-438-4338.
When you go online, create an account and go through the steps to create an identity theft recovery plan, and get an identity theft report.
Send the report to businesses and your local authorities.
2. After you file and get an identity theft report:
Contact the fraud department for each account the criminal opened.
Explain the fraud. You may have to send your identity theft report.
Ask for the accounts to be closed.
Request a confirmation letter of your request.
Keep a record of every contact-the person’s name, the date, and the time of contact.
The confirmation letter should state the fraudulent account isn't yours; you aren't liable for the fraudulent account, and the business will remove the fraudulent activity from your credit report.
Contact each credit bureau, explain the theft, identify fraudulent accounts/activities, and ask for fraudulent items to be removed from your credit report.
Consider adding an extended fraud alert or add a credit freeze. Unlike a regular fraud alert, which places an alert for one year, an extended fraud alert lasts for seven years. A credit freeze lasts until you lift it.
Put an online calendar reminder to review your credit reports for illegal activity.
3. Consider using an identity theft recovery service.
If you find recovering from identity theft has become a second job, especially as a busy working mom, consider working with an identity theft recovery service. An Identity theft recovery service can range from DIY instructions to a full-service model.
An identity theft recovery service may be a good fit if:
You a lot of money due to the fraud
Your creditors refuse to clear you of responsibility for the fraud.
Do your research. Understand what a company will or will not do for you and the TOTAL cost of service. Before paying for the service, ask if the following businesses you may already be using offers identity theft restoration services:
Pre-paid legal plan
Homeowner/rental insurance carrier
Your existing credit monitoring service
Your banking or credit card company
AAA-if you are a member, you already have basic identity theft protection services
Existing credit monitoring services you received as part of a settlement due to a company's data breaches.
In conclusion
Ultimately, you are your best defense. As a busy working mom, I know you have a never-ending to-do list, and the last thing I want to do is pile on another task. Start slow and put a reminder in your online calendar to tackle each section weekly until you've gone through the entire blog.
Earmark this blog, so if you are a victim of identity theft, you know exactly what to do to catch the warning signs of identity theft. These steps will go a long way in protecting the financial security you've working so hard to rebuild.
