ID THEFT NEWS: WEEKLY UPDATE
Fair Credit Reporting Act Lawyers Help Identity Theft Victims
Over 12 million people an identity theft victim every year. The harmful effects of identity theft are life changing and last a lifetime. Victims may not even know their identity has been stolen until they receive debt collection calls for debts they do not owe. Others may discover they are an identity theft victim when they are denied credit or cannot get a job because of false background check information.
What can consumers do to protect their identities and credit reports? The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) provides federal rights to identity theft victims. For example, identity theft victims have the right to request two (2) free credit reports every 12 months. Also, fraud victims can add a fraud alert (90 day and extended 7 year) to their credit files with Equifax, Experian and Trans Union. Consumers also have the right to dispute credit report errors. Liability is triggered under the FCRA when the credit bureaus receive a dispute from a consumer. The furnisher of the information (i.e., creditor) does not have any civil liability until the credit bureaus notify the furnisher of the dispute. This means consumers should always send their dispute to the credit bureaus.
Once the credit reporting agencies (Equifax, Experian and Trans Union) receive a consumer dispute, they must conduct a reasonable “reinvestigation.” The credit reporting agencies must block fraudulent information in 4 business days if they receive an identity theft report.
Download your free identity theft report HERE.
If the credit reporting agencies break the law, then consumers have the right to sue them in federal court for actual and statutory damages, plus attorney’s fees. Micah Adkins represents victims of identity theft in federal court all over the country. Our firm includes lawyers licensed in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, New York, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia. We can meet with you in person or by phone for a free consultation.
Here are some of the identity theft stories we are following:
ALABAMA
Alabama Woman Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison for Identity Theft, Tax Fraud
eSecurity Planet
Rhashema Deramus, 23, of Montgomery, Ala., was sentenced yesterday to 10 years in prison and ordered to pay $1,198,063 in restitution for her involvement in an identity theft and tax refund scam. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Deramus was …
Alabama Woman Gets Four Years for Identity Theft
eSecurity Planet
In August of 2012, Jackson was charged with 25 counts of conspiring to file false tax returns using stolen identities, filing false claims, wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. She pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to file false claims and …
Serving time for theft from one motel, clerk pleads guilty to stealing from …
al.com (blog)
Bryant O’Nell Niles, who ran from the Baymont Inn & Suites when a manager confronted him, pleaded guilty in federal court to wire fraud and aggravated identity theft as part of a deal in which prosecutors will recommend leniency. A preliminary estimate …
FLORIDA
Bartow, Florida
Nursing assistant Portia Charlton accused of stealing IDs from residents at …
WTSP 10 News
Bartow, FL — A traffic stop in Bartow has landed a 23-year-old nursing aide in jail for ID theft. Polk County deputies had been looking for Portia Charlton when she was pulled over Friday. Jail records show she is charged with 13 counts of stealing …
Florida’s identity-theft rate dwarfs others
Network World
Network World – Sure, the headline gives away the answer, but if you had been asked to guess which state has the highest rate of reported identity theft you’d likely have chosen Florida: A large population of vulnerable retirees and a generally high …
OKLAHOMA
Identity-theft victim jailed on culprit’s warrant
Bluefield Daily Telegraph
NORMAN, Okla. — Kurt Millard thought he could resolve the legal matter. The 26-year-old Joplin, Mo., resident knew he hadn’t done anything wrong, even if a bail bondsman said he had a warrant for his arrest. But before a case of mistaken identity …
SOUTH CAROLINA
Columbia, South Carolina
Identity theft concerns spike for Dept. of Consumer Affairs
WIS
COLUMBIA, SC (WIS) – Identity theft concerns have skyrocketed in South Carolina, and the Department of Consumer Affairs says they have the phone bill to back it up. The department says the calls first started to spike in November after the breach at …
TENNESSEE
Jackson, Tennessee
BBB warns of medical identity theft
Jackson Sun
Imagine going in for medical treatment and finding out that your medical records, including your blood type, have been altered. That was the experience of a Florida woman who became the victim of medical identity theft. In a 2006 report titled “MEDICAL …
TEXAS
Kingsville, Texas
Preventing identity theft
Kingsville Record
According to a recent federal report, Texas is among the top states for identity theft. In the Federal Trade Commission’s most recent Consumer Sentinel Network report, Texas ranks seventh in the nation for the most reported cases of identity theft per …
Tyler, Texas
Identity Theft Rings Focus On Loans and Credit Cards
Blogger News Network (blog)
In Tyler TX 45 people were victimized in a loan in an identity theft scam using loan fraud. KLTV reports “They had obtained information on citizens, names, date of birth, social security numbers and so on. Enough so that when they went online to these …
NATIONAL NEWS
Yip: Remove Social Security number from Medicare cards
Dallas Morning News
“We are currently evaluating options to remove the Social Security number from Medicare cards that would cause the least impact on health care providers and beneficiaries, while lowering the risk of identity theft.” Let’s move it along, CMS. This is …
Data breach puts DHS employees at risk of identity theft
FederalNewsRadio.com
Tens of thousands of current and former Homeland Security Department employees are at risk of identity theft after officials discovered a vulnerability in a vendor’s system used for processing background investigations. All DHS employees working in the …
Protect Yourself Against Medical Identity Theft
Fox Business (blog)
Smart identify thieves are leaving the dumpster diving behind and focusing on medical identity theft because they prefer the deeper pockets of insurers to consumers. A typical identity theft involves the looting of your insurance information by a thief …
Do these stories sound familiar to you? Are you an identity theft victim? Do you have credit report errors? Have you disputed the credit report errors to the credit reporting agencies? Have the credit bureaus “verified” fraudulent information on your credit report and refused to delete the information from your report?
Contact us 24/7 for a free case review at 1-800-263-9091.
The call is free and so is the consultation.
[contact-form] [contact-field label=”Name” type=”name” required=”true” /] [contact-field label=”Address” type=”address” required=”true” /] [contact-field label=”Email” type=”email” required=”true” /] [contact-field label=”Telephone Number” type=”text” required=”true” /] [contact-field label=”How can we help you?” type=”textarea” required=”true” /] [/contact-form]