ID THEFT NEWS: WEEKLY UPDATE
Over 10 million consumers a year become victims of identity theft. Fraud victims are denied credit. If fraud victims are approved for credit, then they have to pay higher interest rates! Identity theft victims also get turned down for jobs because of arrests, convictions or other public records in a background report.
What can consumers do to protect their credit reports and their reputation? Federal law provides identity theft victims with rights under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) 15 U.S.C. §§1681, et seq. Under the FCRA, identity theft victims have the right to request two (2) free credit reports every 12 months. Also, identity theft victims can place a fraud alert (90 day and extended 7 year) on their credit file. Identity theft victims can dispute credit report errors due to fraud, such as accounts, name variations, public records and addresses. The credit reporting agencies must block fraudulent information from appearing in a credit file after receipt of an identity theft report within 4 business days!
Download the free identity theft affidavit HERE.
Attorney Micah Adkins represents victims of identity theft across the country. Here are some of the identity theft stories I am following in Alabama, Georgia, Florida, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas and across the nation.
Alabama
Montgomery, Alabama
6 indicted in identity theft ring Montgomery Advertiser Six people have been indicted on charges that they took part in an identity theft ring based in Montgomery, the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced. The ring allegedly is responsible for the theft of more than $600,000. Edmund Lee McCall, 37; Nakeisha …
Georgia
Columbus, Georgia
Elderly man possible target of ID theft, voter fraud WTVM COLUMBUS, GA (WTVM) -. There are some very unusual claims surfacing about voter fraud in Muscogee County and the Board of Elections said they’ve never seen a case quite like it. It’s possible that someone may have assumed the identity of an elderly …
Thomasville, Georgia
Thomasville investigators hold identity theft seminar WALB-TV Investigators from the Thomasville Police Department is hosting a seminar Thursday night to inform citizens how to assess their risk of identity theft, how to protect themselves, and how to clear their names if they do become a victim. “Sometimes it’s …
Florida
Orlando, Florida
Child ID thefts continue to grow WFTV Orlando Ivey has been investigating identity theft since the 1990s and said the crime goes unnoticed because children don’t access their credit until their about 18. But until then, their Social Security number is vulnerable everywhere from doctor’s offices to …
Palm Beach, Florida
New ID theft scam: Luring people to fake IRS website Sun-Sentinel (blog) Identity theft scamsters are using the fake website to lure people into giving personal information that could be used to steal their money or identity, said Mike Dobzinski, the Plantation-based spokesman for the Internal Revenue Service. The pseudo …
North Carolina
Charlotte, North Carolina
Preventing ID theft while shopping online WBTV “Identity theft can happen to you whether you’re shopping online or shopping at the mall,” said BBB President Tom Bartholomy. “However, it is critical for you to take specific steps to protect yourself from high-tech, identity thieves.” If you are …
Oklahoma
Tulsa, Oklahoma
Action Line: Careful what you pay for when getting credit scores Tulsa World 30 began monitoring over 30 of the country’s biggest credit bureaus, investigating whether or not they are following the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act. The federal government has never had widespread access to information about the credit reporting …
Woodward, Oklahoma
Attorney General warns of identity theft WoodwardNews.net (subscription) “Older residents may be more susceptible to identity theft because of the amount of personal data they give out for health care or in-home assistance,” Pruitt said. “Many can be vulnerable and not be aware.” While the warning comes just at the …
South Carolina
3.6 Million South Carolina Taxpayers at Risk of ID Theft Threatpost (blog) Anyone who filed a state return since 1998 are asked to call (866) 578-5422 or visit protectmyid.com/scdor. The state is providing a year of credit monitoring and identity theft protection to anyone impacted by the breach. In addition to Social …
Texas
Huntsville, Texas
Avoid identity theft during the holiday season – Huntsville Item The Huntsville Public Library will present a seminar on identity theft on Dec. 1 from 2:30-3:30 p.m. in the library Community Room. Detective Scott Bennett with the Huntsville Police Department, who is also a former sergeant with the Walker County …
West Virginia
Charleston, West Virginia
McGraw Announces New Iniative to Combat Identity Theft – HNN Huntingtonnews.net CHARLESTON – Attorney General McGraw announced the launch of a new tool for combating consumer fraud, an Identity Theft Consumer Resource Unit. Housed at McGraw’s Consumer Protection Division, this new initiative helps crime victims fight back …
National News
Why House Members Want Medicare To Change ID Card Numbers Huffington Post A recent inspector general report, first highlighted in USA TODAY, has brought another call to disconnect Social Security numbers from Medicare identification cards because of the risk of identity theft and fraud. “Seniors are urged not to carry their …
Where Identity Thieves are Now Living – Fox Business Identity theft has gone mainstream. While a substantial amount of identity theft is still being operated by organized crime groups in major cities such as New York, Detroit, Washington, D.C. and Tampa, the number of scammers operating in rural America …
Cyber Monday: Avoiding Scams and Identity Theft Patch.com Here are some tips on avoiding scams and identity theft on Cyber Monday from Identity Theft 911: Shop on secure sites. These sites have “https” in the address bar and a yellow padlock logo to the right of the Web browser address bar. Double-click on …
Are you a victim of identity theft? Do you have credit report errors? Have the the nationwide credit bureaus “verified” fraudulent information and refused to delete the items from your credit reports?
Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), consumers have the right to dispute credit report errors. The credit reporting agencies must block information from appearing in your credit report that is the result of identity theft. The credit bureaus must block the information within 4 business days of receipt of an identity theft report. Under the FCRA, you have the right to sue the credit bureaus if they fail to perform a reasonable investigation or refuse to investigate your credit report disputes.
Contact FCRA attorney Micah Adkins 24/7 at 1-800-263-9091 for a free case review and free sample dispute letter.
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