Credit reporting bureaus are allowing consumers to fight back in the war on identity theft by letting them “freeze” their credit histories.

According to ID Watchdog a service which monitors identity theft,    “freezing” credit history is a good first step but not an end all solution. The victims of ID theft has risen from about 100,000 in the year 2000, to over 10 million in 2006.

New companies like ID watchdog and LifeLock specialize in identity theft monitoring and prevention.
 
When you freeze the data on your credit report the information becomes “locked” until you authorize the data to be released. As in everything there is a fee to lock and unlock your credit information.

As a consumer you need to be aware that if a thief wants to steal your identity they can do it! Protecting your credit report may in fact be a worthless exercise. The fact is, over 70 percent of identity theft crimes will have nothing to do with your credit report.

A theft could open a Post Office Box, get a pre-paid cell phone, commit a crime or use your name. All which does has nothing to do with credit. 

The FTC - United States Federal Trade Commission claims identity theft as the fastest growing crime in the country. Most victims do not find out about their information being compromised until approximately 12 monhs after a thief makes their first transaction.

It’s estimated in 2005, the cost to businesses and consumers was approximately $56 billion dollars. The sad part is that few than 1 in 700 identity theft crimes ever lead to a conviction.

With no foolproof method or way to guarantee you will not fall victim to ID theft you need to keep on the look out for potential signs that someone may be using your identity.

• Credit cards begin you show up – Cards you never applied for!
• Missing Bills or mail – If bills don’t show up when expected or other item in the mail contact the sender. Identity thieves could change the mailing address and taken over your account.
• Debt collectors begin to call you for items you never purchased
• When you look to finance you find your credit is denied or the credit terms are not as good as they once were. Credit limits may be lower or inter rates could be higher

How important is it for you to keep your eyes open for identity thieft? The estimates or statistics show that the average time needed to repair the problems associated with victims of identty theft to be in the 400-600 hour range.

Ask yourself now… have any of the above items happened to you? Has your identity been stolden?