Debt Kit -- Settle unsecured debts for less than half of amount owed Credit Kit -- Improve your credit rating and reduce monthly payments by $200+ |
Credit > Identity Theft > What is Identity Theft? |
Identity Theft Identity theft is now the fastest growing crime in the United States with more than two million victims complaining to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) each year that their credit identities have been used by another person to obtain credit cards, loans, mortgages, leases and other financial benefits. This crime is growing at such a fast rate that your odds of becoming a victim have increased from 1 in 250 just a few years ago to now 1 in 20. This is because identity theft is an easy crime to commit and it is even easier to get away with -- if you commit identity theft, your odds of ever being caught and prosecuted are about 1 in 750. The problem with identity theft is that much of it could easily be prevented if Congress would pass laws requiring lenders and sellers to thoroughly verify each and every credit application, but if the did so, it would cost the banking industry billions, so they don't require them to. Unfortunately, because the banking industry has a very powerful lobby and contributes significantly to your congressional representatives' election campaigns, Congress allows lenders to pass on the cost of issuing easy credit and identity theft clean-up to you, the consumer. The problem with allowing things to continue as they have is that cleaning up the mess left by identity theft is very time consuming and stressful, not to mention expensive. You will incur about $1,200 in expenses such as postage, telephone calls, notarized statements and such. And as unbelievable as it sounds, if the person who has assumed your identity commits crimes in your name, you can find yourself being arrested. You might be pulled over one day on a traffic stop and suddenly find yourself being arrested for crimes you supposedly committed in another state and hauled off to jail to await extradition. Secondly, your credit rating can be ruined for a significant period of time. It doesn't sound fair that the credit bureaus don't immediately remove all of the damage caused by the thief from your credit file, but they don't, and Congress allows them to continue to report such information, even after they have been informed of the identity theft. Some people actually give up and just pay off the charges made by the theft because its the only way they can improve their credit rating. But you shouldn't do this. Instead, insist that the information be deleted from your credit report. Have you been a victim of identity theft? If so, use the information we have provided to try and resolve the mess as quickly as possible: |
Credit > Identity Theft > What is Identity Theft? |
Debt Kit -- Settle unsecured debts for less than half of amount owed Credit Kit -- Improve your credit rating and reduce monthly payments by $200+ |
