You're at the auto dealership, ready to close the purchase of a new car you've been excited about for months now. The kids are with you because you want them to experience the rewards of your hard work and good credit. It'll give them a good example of the virtues of honest living. You've gotten a great deal, they're throwing in the rust proofing and you're meeting with the finance manager to get the loan straight, sign the papers and drop the kids off at their friend's in the new car that'll raise their status just a bit.
Just then the manager asks if you have alternative means of paying for the car.
"Why, is there a problem?"
"Well, yes. There are several things that need to be taken care of before we can get you approved for a car loan."
You have no idea what they're talking about. You pay all your bills you've always paid on time. Well, except the one time when you took that long vacation at the wrong time of the billing cycle but, even then they waived the late fee. What things need to be taken care of?
As the manager starts to list several accounts that have been listed as charged off, you stop him and ask to see that report for yourself. Feelings of anger, embarrassment and wonder course through you as you see items listed on your credit report that you didn't open. There's a half dozen accounts listed as collection accounts that you never opened. They're all from about six months ago. You pull out the keys to your old car and direct the kids to go to the car. You realize that you've now got bigger issues to deal with than replacing the old family hauler.
Identity theft is a silent crime. You can be a victim and not realize it until months have passed. Thieves use your personal information to turn a quick profit and then give the scraps to other thieves outside the country to turn the attention of law enforcement away from them. They'll take your information, open new accounts after changing your address, max out those charge cards and, of course, not repay the account. You won't know anything about it until you apply for some form of credit where your report is pulled. Even then, unless you're applying in person, you won't know for a week or two after the request is made. You'll get a notification of being declined for credit in the mail with some general reason for the decline and information on how to contact the credit repository whose information was used to make a decision.
So now the work starts. First of all, you're protected by the bank card companies because they have fraud protection. You won't be liable for the fraudulent charges. They all spend a lot of money in advertising telling you that so you'll feel secure in using their product.
But what they don't tell you is that you have 60 days to dispute the bill. If the charges haven't been disputed by you after 60 days, then the creditors expect that the charges are legitimate. Seemed reasonable to them, seemed reasonable to Congress who made it the law. So, despite the best assurances of Madison Avenue, you friend are on the hook for the tab.
Recent statistics from the US Government show that you can expect to spend on average 600 hours and $1200 working to restore your good name should it be compromised. Yes, 600 hours. 600 hours of maddening telephone holding, dealing with bureaucrats and poorly titled customer service individuals all through no fault of your own. Or you can hire a company to work to restore your name. Kroll Fraud Solutions is one private company you can hire that uses licensed investigators and others to restore your identity. They currently charge $899 plus $15.95 monthly for ongoing credit protection. Of course, if you had their ID Theft Shield plan when your identity was compromised, you wouldn't have to pay that $899. But this plan doesn't cover the cost of paying those fraudulent charges that weren't yours and are over 60 days old.
The best bet to begin the repair of your identity yourself is to start with the Federal Trade Commissions website, www.ftc.gov. They'll start you on that long road to having only the correct legitimate information about you in your credit and other public reports. At least until you have to fix an identity theft again...
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