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PREVENT IDENTITY THEFT
Identity theft is rapidly becoming one of the country's most serious problems for consumers. Credit card fraud, phone and utilities fraud, bank fraud... In fact, in 2004, over 246,000 cases of identity theft were reported. 18% of all cases (over 43,000) were in California alone. Because of this it is vital that you understand how to take precautions to prevent this crime from happening to you, and how it relates to the mortgage process.
CHOOSE A REPUTABLE MORTGAGE BROKER
Be cautious when using a company or individual you have never heard of - check out their backgrounds and references, referrals, state licensing agencies, and their membership with the California Association of Mortgage Brokers (www.cambweb.org). Dealing with a reputable and licensed mortgage broker will help to ensure that you can trust them with your private financial and credit information.
Be sure to ask them how they handle your paperwork in terms of keeping and disposing of files. Do they have an office-wide Identity Theft prevention policy, do they shred sensitive information that is not needed?, do they see your personal information for extra income?
CHECK YOUR CREDIT REPORT
Periodically check credit reports from each of the three major credit reporting agencies and review your file to make sure the information is correct. Under California law, you may receive one free credit report per year.
As part of the loan process, you will have your report checked prior to qualifying. If, after reviewing the information on your report, you determine there is incorrect information on the report, you will need to take action to have this corrected, whether the problem was identity theft or not. I can help guide you through the process if it's needed.
SET UP A FRAUD ALERT
If you suspect being a victim of identity theft, request the major credit reporting agencies to attach a fraud alert to your credit report. When opening a new credit account, lenders are required to contact you by phone to verify you really want to open the account.
FREEZE YOUR CREDIT
Under California law, you can place a security freeze on your credit reports. Unless provided with a PIN or password to the credit bureau, lenders will not have access to your credit report and an identity thief will not be able to get new loans and credit in your name.
MONITOR MAILINGS, PHONE CALLS AND E-MAIL
Check your mail for unusual mailings appearing to be from lenders or others requesting financial information. Be cautious of giving out personal information to persons calling claiming to be from a company with whom you do business. One of the newest scams occurs over the Internet. You may recieve an email from EBay, PayPal, or another major and well known company informing you that you need to click on a link in the email to update your account with them.
The problem is that the link in the email LOOKS legitimate, but in fact it redirects people to a look-alike web site - at a web address other than the legitimate address of the real company. These "phishing" web sites, as they are known in the industry are phony - fraudulent sites made to appear legitimate and designed to lure you into entering your real userID and password information that they can then use to steal your identity or misappropriate your finances. So never click on a link in an email requesting you to update your account. If you think you need to update an online account, always hand-type the actual real web address of the company in question to log into your account.
PROPERLY DISCARD DOCUMENTS
Tear up financial solicitations before throwing them away and destroy any other financial documents before disposing of them. Investing in a home paper shredder for all sensitive documents is well worth the minimal cost. Be especially careful of the "free checks" your credit companies send with your bill.
WHAT TO DO IF YOU HAVE BEEN VICTIMIZED
If you believe you are or may be a victim of Identity Theft, here are some important phone numbers for contacting and resolving this most serious issue
The three Credit Bureaus:
Equifax www.equifax.com 800.525.6285
Experian www.experian.com 888.397.3742
TransUnion www.tuc.com 800.680.7289
Securities and Exchange Commission www.sec.gov 800.732.0330
FTC Identity Theft Hotline 877.438.4338
Social Security Fraud Hotline 800.269.0271
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