Identity Theft

It’s still an issue especially when people are hurting. There may be smaller crimes taking place through according to statistics crime really hasn’t risen that much. That is because the statistics have been skewed. IF10% of the population was a victim of theft a decade ago, but the population rose along with crime proportionally and 10 years later there is still a 10% rate in robbery or theft, the number are being used to show that there hasn’t been a dramatic rise in crime.

Let’s say you take precautions at home and shred bills, don’t give out your credit card number or any information over the phone for anything that is unsolicited and shop at secure sites. You still may be a victim of identity theft. When you are shopping, someone may be taking a picture of your credit card. The Department of Justice calls this “shoulder surfing.”

Many people do not realize how easily criminals can obtain our personal data without having to break into our homes. In public places, for example, criminals may engage in “shoulder surfing” – watching you from a nearby location as you punch in your telephone calling card number or credit card number – or listen in on your conversation if you give your credit-card number over the telephone to a hotel or rental car company.

Many times, I have overheard people giving their credit card number out in public on the phone. Granted, I don’t want to do anything with this information but a thief definitely would. A thief may also take a picture of your credit card as you hand it over to the cashier taking a picture of all the information they need to do some damage to your credit.

Let’s say you still receive paper statements from your bank or even from an investment account. If it doesn’t arrive on time, be concerned someone else may have intercepted it and can gain access to your accounts.

Scammers may even call your house or send you a realistic looking bill stating that you owe money. If you know that you have had no closed accounts or bills due, call your credit card company or check to see what this is about. When inquiring about fraudulent charge, do not give your social security number to anyone. Ask what the previous address is for the person and the person’s age. There are times when bill collectors are doing skip tracing to hunt down debtors that they find the wrong person.

One recommendation that the Federal Trade Commission makes is staggering the free credit reports that you can receive (one per year, per company) to see what the credit reports are showing.  You can request your free report online, by phone or by mail. AnnualCreditReport.com, call 1-877-322-8228, or fill out the Annual Credit Report Request form and mail it to Annual Credit Report Request Service, P.O. Box 105281, Atlanta, GA 30348-5281. No matter how you request your report, you have the option to request all three reports at once or to order one report at a time. By requesting the reports separately, you can monitor your credit more frequently throughout the year.

Unfortunately, twice I have had free credit monitoring offered to me because of breeches in security. One was because of an employer and the other because an online company’s site was hacked. The services were nice, but I probably wouldn’t want to pay $20 or more each month to have credit monitoring. In both cases they were just offering the service so they wouldn’t be liable because of theft.

Unemployed or underemployed and can’t make payments on your loans? You are not alone.

The American Banking Association recently released a report indicating that a lot of Americans are not paying their bills.

…delinquencies on consumer debt rose to a record 3.23% in the first quarter of 2009, up slightly from the previous quarter.

This number does not include credit card debt.

Similarly, the balances on those late credit card accounts rose to 6.6% of all outstanding bank card debt, marking another record high.

The reports shouldn’t be surprising. If you have no money or are making less than you did, paying bills becomes difficult if not impossible.

Don’t dodge bill collectors or anyone you owe. Be forthright and explain your situation or try to make some small payment if you can.

Prioritize your bills. Pay the essentials such as mortgage or rent, transportation to get to work and utilities.

You aren’t the only one. Ask for a restructuring of your mortgage, if you can. If it is true hardship you can ask to reduce the interest rate on your loan with no additional fees. Some income requirements may be imposed but remember companies also want their money too. Late payments and delinquencies also can mar your credit report but making some effort will be better than doing nothing.

Still want to enjoy things that you used to like vacations? Dinners with friends or vacations keeping you from some social activities? If you are un- or under-employed you might not have the same amount of money you formerly earned. Or if you were forced to take furlough days or a pay decrease then there is just less money to go around.

As you parents used to say when you were younger, if they are really your friends then they won’t have a problem. True friends don’t want their friends to have financial problems. If you can’t afford to go on a vacation with friends then tell them. If  you were living a larger lifestyle funded by credit cards and are trying to pay down debt, be forthright. People who only like you for your money or won’t accommodate plans occasionally so that you can do something with them aren’t your true friends.

Be a pest.

When you notice that something in wrong on your bank statement or credit card statement, politely ask for an inquiry. Sometimes you may have to ask twice but ti will work. Two months ago I found fraudulent charges on a credit card statement, then I found double billing from a company I actually placed an order with. The fraudulent charges, I had to place an inquiry twice, but while the charges were being investigated, I didn’t have to pay interest on those and checked frequently to see how the status of the inquiry was going.

The squeaky wheel gets the grease. Persistence pays off, but politeness along with assertiveness helps. An overly aggressive person can escalate a situation and make it difficult to get someone to help you.

Assertiveness and aggressiveness are two sides of the same coin but can evoke reactions from different ends of the spectrum. A polite assertive person might be able to get a situation rectified in their favor. An aggressive person who seems to be a bully or boorish (think ugly American) may not be able to have a situation resolved in their favor.

Assertive behavior also deals directly with the person or company that can resolve the issue. You may feel aggravated by having to repeat a situation but by maintaining a pleasant demeanor and you will be able to have your situation resolved. Recent situations where people called 911 because of problems in fast food restaurants or other retailers indicates that shoppers weren’t using assertiveness, they were being aggressive.

Complain to the right person. Generally, the cashier or first person you speak to isn’t the person who can help you, if you have a serious issue. Ask to speak to a supervisor. Keep asking until you get the right person to help you. When calling on the phone, take notes including the time you called, and the name of the representative. Ask for what you want – a refund, a repair, a new item. You may not get it but by asking politely, you are closer to getting what you want than if you are aggressive and get angry quickly.

Telling your problem to someone who cannot help you, such as on an anonymous complaint site does nothing to resolve your problem. Using the sites will help warn others of potential problems, but many situations are different.

If you are delinquent on your credit card bill, it may not be Monty Hall calling to make a deal, it may be your credit card company.

The delinquency rate on credit cards has risen, as have calls from credit card companies to people with high balances. Companies are trying to make deals with people in order to get something rather than nothing.

Even with settling for less than the entire amount, there are still high balances around.

“Revolving credit, a close approximation of credit card debt, totaled $939.6 billion in March. The Federal Reserve reported that 6.5 percent of credit card debt was at least 30 days past due in the first quarter, the highest percentage since it began tracking the number in 1991. The amount being written off was also at peak levels.”

Credit brings a different dimension to this recession.  The unemployed and under-employed do not have as much to lose. When you aren’t making any money, your wages can’t be garnisheered. This does not mean forgoing payment. Although no one can say, yet, how taking a deal from a credit card company will affect your future credit or credit score.