Active Duty Alerts Help Protect Military Personnel from Identity Theft
Updated: January 7, 2009
Most likely, identity theft once again will top the list of complaints the Federal Trade Commission received during 2005, a statistic that is of particular concern if you`re in the military and anticipating deployment. If you are a member of the military and away from your usual duty station, you can take action to minimize the risk of someone assuming your identity to commit financial fraud; Busey Bank`s Susan Abbott tells us how:
Q: Take action by?
Placing an "active duty alert" on your credit report, to help minimize the risk of identity theft while you are deployed.
When a business sees the alert on your credit report, it must verify your identity before issuing you credit. They may try to contact you directly, but if you`re on deployment, that may be impossible.
Amendments to the Fair Credit Reporting Act allow you to use a personal representative to place or remove an alert.
Q: How long are the alerts effective and how do you place the alert?
For one year, unless you request that the alert be removed sooner.
If your deployment last longer, you may place another alert on your report.
Contact one of the nationwide consumer reporting companies, Equifax, Experian or Transunion. They will require you to provide appropriate proof of your identity, and whichever company you call is required to contact the other two.
Q: What happens when you place an active duty alert?
Your name is removed form the nationwide consumer reporting companies marketing lists for prescreened offers of credit and insurance for two years, unless you ask that your name be placed on the lists before then.
To learn more about identity theft and your credit rights under the Fair Credit Report Act (FCRA) and the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACTA) visit www.ftc.gov/credit
