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What You Can Do To Thwart Identity Theft

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 30, 2007

Chances are you just finished dropping a boatload of money on holiday gifts. You probably paid for the bulk of your purchases with a debit or credit card, particularly if you did any of your shopping online. But what did you do to protect yourself against identity theft?

Probably not much - most people rarely, if ever, look over their shoulders before handing over their credit card. Some don't even bother to double-check that a Web site is secure before typing in the digits.

The best solution we have is probably the security freeze. It's basically a padlock for your credit report and perhaps the best way to keep from becoming a victim.

"A credit freeze is an order to the three credit bureaus - TransUnion, Experian and Equifax - that you do not want them selling your personal information to any third party. What this does is make your credit report unavailable to banks, credit card companies, utility and cell phone companies - anyone who might want to look at your credit report before issuing credit," explains Scott Mitic, CEO and co-founder of TrustedID, an identity-theft protection service. If lenders can't see your credit report, they can't issue a thief credit in your name.

The downside, of course, is that unless you lift the freeze, you can't get credit either. So is it worth the hassle? Here, we provide a primer on security freezes:

Weigh the cost. The fee for a security freeze is going to vary by state, but $10 per bureau seems to be the norm. (Unless you've already been a victim of ID theft, then it's free.)

You'll want to put a freeze on your file at each of the three credit bureaus because contacting just one is akin to locking the front door of your house, then leaving the back and side doors wide open. So now we're at about $30. If you have to lift the freeze because you need a new car or want to apply for a mortgage, it's another $10 a pop.

Know yourself. I have to admit, I kind of like credit freezes for another reason: They force you to stop and think before spending money you don't have. It can take a few days for the freeze on your credit report to lift, which is long enough for you to decide you don't really need that department store credit card after all.

Consider a fraud flag instead. It's basically a note, attached to your credit report by all three bureaus, requesting that lenders contact you by phone before issuing credit in your name. One plus to a fraud flag over a freeze is that it's free. It's also a lot easier to manage than a freeze, but it may not be quite as effective.

"It's not foolproof," says Mitic. Still, lenders are by law required to read and respond to a fraud flag, so it's definitely worth a try.

Arm your computer. Updated anti-spyware and anti-virus software is always worth the investment. For about $30, you'll protect yourself against programs that can worm into your computer, scan the hard drive for your personal information and then send the findings into the waiting hands of thieves.

Pay attention. If you can't stop an identity theft - and all the protections in the world may not be enough, frankly - you can at least catch it early on. The crime generally comes with one or two red flags.

With reporting by Arielle McGowen. Jean Chatzky is an editor-at-large at Money Magazine and serves as AOL's official Money Coach. She is the personal finance editor for NBC's "Today Show."

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