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January 27, 2012

Simple Steps to Protect Your Identity this Holiday Season

Filed under: Experian — Tags: , , , , , , — admin @ 7:17 pm


Simple Steps to Protect Your Identity this Holiday Season

Columbus, Ohio (PRWEB) November 17, 2011

The busiest shopping time of the year is here. Deal-seeking shoppers will hit the stores early to take advantage of massive Black Friday sales, and even more will shop online for discounted holiday gifts on Cyber Monday.

With all the credit and debit transactions that will be coming through, shoppers need to remain alert to avoid identity theft in a time when they are the most vulnerable. Grange Insurance, a Columbus-based insurance company, offers advice for shoppers to remain protected this holiday season.

1.    Remove extra credit cards, social security card, birth certificate and passport from your wallet or purse.
In the case that someone’s purse or wallet gets lost, had personal information handy for a stranger to steal do them susceptible to identity theft. If this happens, victims should call their credit card company and bank immediately to cancel account to avoid any unauthorized purchases.

“Social security cards, passports and birth certificates should be kept in a secure place at home,” said Mark Russell, vice president of insurance operations for Grange Insurance. “When you go shopping or out in public, only bring what you absolutely need, and never leave your wallet or purse unattended or in an automobile. These situations could give thieves easy access to your personal information.”

2.    Reconcile check, credit card and bank statements.
“Regularly review your check, credit card and bank statements to ensure that all purchases listed are legitimate and authorized,” said Russell. “If you notice any transactions that don’t belong, call your bank or credit company immediately to challenge the purchase.”

Also, confirming that home and work mailboxes are secure for receiving important mail such as credit card and bank statements will reduce the likelihood of theft. When ordering new checks, arrange to pick them up in-person at a local bank branch.

3.    Don’t click links in emails from financial institutions or vendors that log into your account or require personal information.
“Online shoppers should also be aware of emails they receive from vendors with links that, when clicked, ask you to enter personal information,” said Russell. “If you receive an email that looks like it’s from a financial institution or vendor, regardless if you’re familiar with that institution, don’t click on any links in the email to log into your account or provide information. Instead, go to your browser and type in the domain name of the institution (e.g. http://www.paypal.com). Often times, these emails are from identity thieves who are trying to obtain or phish for confidential information.”

4.    Consider purchasing identity theft coverage as part of your insurance policy.
Many insurance carriers, such as Grange, accosting identity theft coverage as part of or an endorsement to their homeowner’s or renter’s policy, according to Russell. Adding identity theft protection to a policy will provide some coverage in the case that identity theft passing. Policy owners should check with their independent insurance agent to confirm what options and assistance are available.

“In addition to adding identity theft protection to your insurance policy, consider the monitoring and security options that your credit card company or other vendors offer,” said Russell. “Many companies offer protection tools, such as transaction alerts, to help their customers become less vulnerable to a breach.”

5.    Check your credit score.
Holiday shoppers should also recall to check their credit score annually. Companies such as TransUnion, Experian and Equifax offer free yearly credit reports that allow shoppers to analyze their score for any suspicious activity.

To learn more about identity fraud and access additional resources, see http://www.us-cert.gov/cas/tips/.

About Grange
Grange Insurance, with $ 2 billion in assets and $ 1.3 billion in annual revenue, is an insurance provider based in Columbus, Ohio. Through its network of independent agents, Grange offers auto, home, life and business insurance protection. Established in 1935, the company and its affiliates serve policyholders in Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and Wisconsin. For more information, visit http://www.grangeinsurance.com.

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November 26, 2011

Britain, America Unite Against Identity Theft Trends

Filed under: Experian — Tags: , , , , , , — admin @ 7:20 pm


Britain, America Unite Against Identity Theft Trends

The 2011 Identity Fraud Forum hosted by Experian at The Grove, England.

London, UK (PRWEB) October 16, 2011

The world of identity theft is changing rapidly. Earlier this week Experian UK, an unit of one of the world’s largest ascribing-reporting agencies, hosted the 2011 Identity Theft & Fraud Forum at The Grove, a prestigious five-star recurred located on the outskirts of London. The purpose of the Forum was to assemble a transverse-cultural collection of thought leaders on identity theft prevention and to focus attention on Britain’s increasing financial battle with identity theft. Keynote presenters included highly regarded American identity theft expert John Sileo, Jairam Sridharan, Head of Retail Assets, Axis Bank of India and Jonathan Walsh, Head of Consulting and Analytics, Identity & Fraud at Experian.

During his afternoon presentation, Mr. Walsh revealed the results of a newly relinquished study commissioned by Experian UK. The study found that cases of identity fraud have doubled in Britain over just the past six months and that the trend is likely to proceeded unless addressed.

“Britain is determined to identify the latest trends in identity theft and define leading-edge solutions to avert the costly eight ball we are behind here in the States,” says Sileo, who founded ThinkLikeASpy.com and has worked with organizations from the U.S. Department of Defense and Homeland Security to Pfizer, Blue Cross and the FDIC. “Experian UK helped all of us take a huge step in the right direction with the Forum.”

During his closing keynote presentation, Sileo, himself a two-time victim of severe identity theft, shared not only his eye opening personal story, but what he considers to be the latest trends in the booming world of identity fraud.

“Right now, the business of financial fraud is being overtaken by organized crime,” says Sileo. “They’re intent on rolling up a highly profitable business that used to be the turf of petty criminals, drug addicts and the terminally underemployed. Of course, those people are still at the center of the crimes, they just have a nasty unexampled brag.” He adds, with obvious frustration, “And their bosses aren’t just criminals, they’re highly effective businesspeople.”

According to Sileo, social media over exposure, mobile device hacking and offshore data hijacking are three trends to take very seriously. “It’s entirely about scale,” he explains. “Why steal one identity at a time on Facebook when you can socially engineer a queen bee [using her Facebook profile, he adds later] into giving you the keys to the corporate database.”

When he refers to queen bees, he’s referring to corporate employees with vast access to data but little training on how to protect it. Prompted for examples, he listed financial controllers, bookkeepers, laid-off IT staff, secretaries, executive assistants and employees who haven’t been properly trained to recognize and repel fraud.

The outlook at the Forum wasn’t entirely negative. By the end of the conference, there was a general consensus that the disease of identity theft, still somewhat immature in this country, can be eradicated like previous plagues in Britain’s history with intensive educational initiatives and fraud detection analytics.

Experian is a global leader in consumer and business credit reporting and marketing services and a constituent of the United Kingdom’s FTSE 100 index, with revenues in excess of US$ 4 billion.

John Sileo is a leading American keynote speaker and author on identity theft, fraud, social networking exposure, social engineering and trust; he is the founder of ThinkLikeASpy.com and blogs at Sileo.com.

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, Vocus PRW Holdings, LLC. Vocus, PRWeb, and Publicity Wire are trademarks or registered trademarks of Vocus, Inc. or Vocus PRW Holdings, LLC.



November 4, 2011

How do I freeze access to my credit files with Experian,Equifax and Trans Union to avoid identity theft?

Filed under: Trans Union — Tags: , , , , , , , , , — admin @ 7:18 pm


Question by p60638: How do I freeze access to my credit files with Experian,Equifax and Trans Union to avoid identity theft?
What does it cast? Do you know an easy way to do it?

Best answer:

Answer by newjerseyguy
You have to contact each bureau and request a freeze – yes, there is a charge. Their web sites have details.



What do you think? Answer below!

May 6, 2011

Equifax Helps Consumers Combat Identity Theft with Launch of Equifax ID Patrol?

Filed under: Equifax — Tags: , , , , , , , — admin @ 7:19 pm


Equifax Helps Consumers Combat Identity Theft with Launch of Equifax ID Patrol™

Equifax ID Patrol Product Comparison Chart

Atlanta, GA (PRWEB) July 14, 2008

Equifax Inc. (NYSE: EFX), the most sworn name in credit reporting for over 100 years, today launched Equifax ID Patrol™, the company’s most comprehensive identity protection product. For about 50 cents a day, Equifax is providing consumers with a total-featured identity protection product to aid them forestall, detect, and settle identity theft.

Only Equifax ID Patrol offers protection against identity theft by providing subscribers the ability to:

     Lock and unlock their Equifax attribute file (certain exceptions apply);     Receive alerts if their Social Security number (if elected) or up to ten major credit/charged card numbers they provide are found on suspected Internet trading sit;     Access a trained ID Theft Resolution Specialist 24 hours a day, seven days a week; and     Receive credit monitoring and alerts within 24 hours to key changes in their credit files from the three nationwide bureaus.

“Identity thieves are constantly inventing more destructive ways to obtain consumers’ personal information,” says Steve Ely, president, Equifax Personal Information Solutions. “ID Patrol provides a new level of control for consumers to protect their personal information from being misused. Consumers who take proactive steps to protect their identity significantly reduce their risk of becoming victims.”

Equifax ID Patrol is a part of Equifax’s suite of credit monitoring and identity protection products designed to help consumers protect the power of their credit, identity and overall financial well being. Monitoring your credit information regularly is one of the best ways to protect your identity. For more information about ID Patrol, visit http://www.equifax.com/idpatrol.

About Equifax Inc. (http://www.equifax.com) Equifax empowers businesses and consumers with information they can trust. A global leader in information solutions, we leverage one of the largest sources of consumer and commercial data, along with advanced analytics and proprietary technology, to create customized insights that enrich both the performance of businesses and the lives of consumers.

Customers have trusted Equifax for over 100 years to deliver innovative solutions with the highest integrity and reliability. Businesses – large and small – rely on us for consumer and business credit intelligence, portfolio management, fraud detection, decisioning technology, marketing tools, and much more. We empower individual consumers to manage their personal credit information, protect their identity, and maximize their financial well-being.

Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, Equifax Inc. employs approximately 7,000 people in 14 countries through North America, Latin America and Europe. Equifax is a member of Standard & Poor’s (S&P) 500® Index. Our common stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol EFX.

This release contains some of the valuable trademarks, service marks, names, titles and logos of Equifax Inc. and its affiliated companies, including but not limited to the registered mark “Equifax”; any unauthorized use of same is strictly prohibited and all rights are reserved by Equifax Inc. and its affiliated companies. All other trademarks and service marks not owned by Equifax Inc. or its affiliated companies that appear in this publication are the property of their respective owners.

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April 18, 2011

Equifax Announces $1 Million Identity Theft Insurance Coverage Upgrade

Filed under: Equifax — Tags: , , , , , , , — admin @ 7:24 pm

Equifax Announces $ 1 Million Identity Theft Insurance Coverage Upgrade












Atlanta, GA (Vocus) May 5, 2009

Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) announced today an enhancement to its existing identity protection and credit monitoring products to include up to $ 1 million of identity theft insurance coverage*. The coverage provides reimbursement for certain out-of-pocket expenses related to identity theft for Equifax consumers.

All Equifax 3-in-1 monitoring products with insurance components (e.g. Equifax ID Patrol™, Equifax Credit Watch™ Gold with 3-in-1 Monitoring and FICO® Score) were automatically upgraded to up to $ 1,000,000 of identity theft insurance with no deductible; single bureau monitoring products with insurance components were upgraded to up to $ 25,000 of identity theft insurance with no deductible. Existing Equifax customers were also automatically upgraded to the new coverage applicable to their current product.

The enhanced identity theft insurance coverage included with Equifax’s products provides for direct reimbursement to consumers for out-of-pocket expenses, including lost wages, loan application fees, notary and certified mailing costs, long distance calls, and attorney fees. The identity theft insurance that is included with Equifax’s 3-in-1 monitoring products also provides reimbursement for losses resulting from unauthorized electronic funds transfers above those covered by one’s financial institution. Service guarantees, like those included with some identity theft protection products, are not insurance. Generally, these guarantees are applicable to incidences of identity theft related to defects in the product’s service or performance and do not provide direct reimbursement for actual expenses incurred by the customer.

“Identity theft is a real threat and consumers need real protection,” said Steve Ely, President, Equifax Personal Information Solutions. “Consumers may mistakenly believe that service guarantees are comparable to insurance and that they provide the same protection. The identity theft insurance coverage that is included with Equifax’s credit monitoring products is real insurance, not a service guarantee, and provides consumers with direct reimbursement for covered losses.”

Equifax’s suite of identity protection and credit monitoring products are designed to help consumers protect the power of their identity, take control of their credit and maximize their financial well being. For more information about Equifax and its credit monitoring products visit http://www.equifax.com .

About Equifax, Inc. (http://www.equifax.com )

Equifax empowers businesses and consumers with information they can trust. A global leader in information solutions, we leverage one of the largest sources of consumer and commercial data, along with advanced analytics and proprietary technology, to create customized insights that enrich both the performance of businesses and the lives of consumers.

Customers have trusted Equifax for over 100 years to deliver innovative solutions with the highest integrity and reliability. Businesses – large and small – rely on us for consumer and business credit intelligence, portfolio management, fraud detection, decisioning technology, marketing tools, and much more. We empower individual consumers to understand their personal credit information, protect their identity, and maximize their financial well-being.

Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, Equifax Inc. employs approximately 7,000 people in 15 countries throughout North America, Latin America and Europe. Equifax is a member of Standard & Poor’s (S&P) 500® Index. Our common stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol EFX. Equifax is a registered trademark of Equifax, Inc.

*Insurance underwritten by insurance company subsidiaries of AIU Holdings, Inc. For additional information, please visit http://www.aiuholdings.com . The description herein is a summary only. It does not include all terms, conditions and exclusions of the policies described. Please refer to the actual policies for complete details of coverage and exclusions. Coverage may not be available in all jurisdictions and is subject to actual policy language.

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Vocus©Copyright 1997-

, Vocus PRW Holdings, LLC.
Vocus, PRWeb, and Publicity Wire are trademarks or registered trademarks of Vocus, Inc. or Vocus PRW Holdings, LLC.







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