CreditPro is a new blog featuring advice from an employee of a non-profit credit repair agency. The site has only been around a week but already has several great articles:
- The top 7 credit score secrets
- Avoiding payday loans
- Improving your credit after a bankruptcy
- 8 things you must do if your identity is stolen
I particularly like the article on identity theft. What should you do if your identity is stolen? CreditPro suggests:
- Call one of the three major credit reporting agencies to place a fraud alert on your credit report. (A commenter at CreditPro advises to contact all of the reporting agencies.)
- If the thieves opened new accounts, contact each creditor to report the fraudulent activity.
- Contact any existing accounts that may have been compromised to report that your identity has been stolen.
- Contact the police.
- File a complaint with the FTC.
- Change your online passwords.
- You may have to get a new driver’s license.
- Keep detailed records of your interactions with various companies and agencies.
The comments on this article are interesting, especially this one from Aaron, who had his identity stolen four years ago and has been through hell because of it:
DON’T BELIEVE THIS STUFF. Yes, it’s good to do, No it WILL NOT protect you. ID Theft is an epidemic and EVERYONE wants to pass the buck. My life has changed FOREVER because of this, and the police, banks, credit agencies and credit companies WILL NOT HELP YOU nor will they be compassionate at all. My 10+ years of FLAWLESS credit history means NOTHING to any of these people, and they all apologize and sympathize, but can and will do NOTHING.
Other comments offer tips for preventing identity theft in the first place.
CreditPro fascinates me because it’s written by somebody inside the industry, somebody who sees how these problems affect people in everyday life. I’ve added it to my feedreader and plan to link to other excellent posts in the future.
No comments:
Post a Comment