Credit Monitoring Services Question

It is my understanding that the main problem area is getting the various credit reporting agencies (TRW, etc.) to correct your records.

Not really, it's the banks that report the items. Once they stop reporting and you dispute them all with the CRAs, it's simple.

"Justin" wrote

My experience is correcting my credit reports (subsequent to finding a black mark due to theft of my identity via a phony account opened with a certain phone company) was a pain in the neck. I am retired and had the time to cross all t's and dot i's. For those without time and smarts, multiply the aggravation and time factor by 100. Figure at least two months of chasing paper and communicating with all parties.

ID theft is a crime against society affecting finances of individuals and corporations alike. I think we all have a responsibility to stop crime to the extent that we are reasonably capable.

Elle wrote on [Mon, 14 May 2007 12:40:22 -0500]:

Then the best defense is to educate corporations on security. Teach them that a Social Security Number is not a password and is readily available to anyone with time and a few bucks. Three little question and answer security questions on a website aren't going to stop anyone if you select them yourself once registering for an account.

Until then, they can pay the bill to fix the problems they created to begin with.

At most it takes an hour to dispute all fraudulent accounts with each CRA. Go get your credit report once every 4 months and check it over.

"Justin" wrote

Not in the instance to which I alluded earlier. Paperwork had to be filled out and notarized; a police report was recommended; an exchange w/the company that claimed I owed them was necessary. It went pretty smoothly (over two months), but I suspect this was laregly because the company had had numerous complaints for ID theft.

You said to put the burdens on corporations.

In a newsgroup whose main cause d'etre is promoting individual financial responsibility, your view is troubling.

Elle wrote on [Mon, 14 May 2007 14:05:02 -0500]:

They need to prove that you owe them, that you agreed to owe them and that you applied for credit. That's how it works.

The burden of proof. It's their job to prove you owe them. Checking your reports is just a pre-emptive strike to generally know what's going on in case you need new credit.

You don't seem to know what you are talking about. Can you provide a cite to back up your information/assertions?

"Justin" wrote On companies who have an account opened under false ID:

And this takes how much time while one has a black mark on one's credit reports? To save time while we wait for corporations to do as you wish, I recommend individuals being pro-active and vigilant over all financial accounts.

I also recommend a police report, but the report should be against the bank, not the individual that used your SSN. It's up to the bank to chase him down.

It's troubling to me that some think I need to protect someone else (a bank in this case) from strangers defrauding them.

Debt validation - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia "At a minimum, the debt collector is required to confirm with the creditor the amount being claimed is correct and that the person from whom they are attempting to collect the debt is the person who owes it."