It seems like credit card fraud and identity theft are the two things that are in the news more today than ever and people are wondering what they can do to protect themselves from becoming a victim of credit card fraud or identity theft.  One of the first things that you should do when you get a credit card is to sign your name on the back of it and make sure that you do not keep your PIN number with the card or tape it anywhere on the card just in case it is stolen or hacked because identity thieves do not need your credit card to get into your account.

Whenever you use your card in public do not let anyone see your account number and make sure that if you have to use your PIN number do not let anyone see you type it in.   You should also be careful about letting your credit card out of your sight because it can be scanned to get your information.  If you move make sure that you notify the credit card company so your statement will come to your new address and not be laying the mail box at your old address.
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Identity theft once had the simple name of debit or credit card fraud which involved using a stolen number to make fraudulent purchases.  Now that simple crime has evolved into getting the social security number of the victim and opening brand new accounts.  Most of the time the victim is totally unaware of these new accounts because the identity theft is having the bills sent to a different address so the spending goes on unnoticed until a collection agency contacts the victim for nonpayment.

Even if you check your statements every month you will not get any tips as to this happening but if you check your credit report you will see it.   This can be time consuming and expensive because most of the time it will cost you to get a copy of your credit report.  You can get free copies once a year but if you wait that long a lot of damage can already be done to your credit.

To help with this problem credit bureaus are offering an option that is called a credit or security freeze.  This credit or security freeze is just a hold that is put on your credit file at each of the credit reporting agencies which are three.  When this hold is placed on your credit file it helps to prevent potential creditors and credit card issuers from being able to see your credit history.  If they cannot see your credit history they will not issue any credit which means the identity theft will not be issued any credit in your name.
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Having your identity stolen can be a very frightening experience not to mention one that can takes months to years to straighten out.  If you have been a victim of identity theft there are certain rights that you do have as a victim.  When you know that you have become a victim of identity theft you have the right to file a report with the law enforcement agency and ask for a copy of it to use as proof your identity has been stolen.

You also have a right to get an identity theft report that is like a police report but does into more detail.  It should contain enough information that the businesses and credit reporting companies can verify that you are a victim.  It will also let them know just what information or accounts have been affected.

When you start to deal with the various credit reporting companies you have the right to put a ninety day initial fraud alert on your credit files.  You should do this if you think you are a victim or may become a victim of identity theft.  This alert just tells the users of your credit report that they must take steps to verify who is trying to get credit in your name.  To do this, all you have to do is contact just one of the credit reporting bureaus and they will contact the other two bureaus.

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There are ads on the internet and some work at home sites advertising for people to sell items on e-Bay.  Some may be legitimate but most of them are scams.  Why do these people need you to sell for them on e-Bay and pay you a fee when they could do it themselves and keep all the profit from the sale?  The reason is that this person does not really have anything to sell except for a scam.

When you look at these ads, they want you to not only have an open e-Bay account but also a PayPal account without any limitations.  Some even put in their advertisements that they are looking for hard working, honest people.  When you answer their ad they will send you the information of what they want you to see, how much you get to keep as a fee which may include the amount that e-Bay charges you for listing the items.

They will then send you the information about the item that you are to advertise for sale, a picture or two of the item, how and where they want it listed on e-Bay and their PayPal address to send the money to.  Once you have it all set up on e-Bay you have to send the link to the person you are selling the item for so they can make sure that it is done correctly.
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Take action immediately once you realize you have become a id theft victim.  This is means that there are going to be hundreds of phone calls, countless hours, and lots of writing to keep meticulous records of all the conversations you have.  In addition, you need to realize that you are going to find yourself repeating some of the same information over and over.  You are also going to spending several hundreds of dollars on mailing out certified letters and documents not including the wages you may loose if you have to go to court.  You may also have to deal with collection agencies for bills you did not create.  You are going to have to check your credit reports to see what damage has been done, and you will need to make sure that your medical records have not been compromised.  There is so much that you will have to do to get your identity back.

You need to make sure your bank and credit card company have been contacted.  You should also contact at least one of the credit reporting agencies to report the fraud.  By law, they are required to notify the other two agencies.  They will also send you a free credit report.  Make sure that they put a fraud alert on your report.  You may also want to ask them if they can freeze any applications for credit until you tell them to remove it. In addition, make sure that you change your passwords and PIN number on all your accounts.
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