Fraud Alerts: Are They Necessary?
This post is submitted by Carmen Dellutri, Esq., Mr. Dellutri is a Board Certified Consumer Bankruptcy Attorney and founder of The Dellutri Law Group, P.A. and one of the founding members of the Bankruptcy Law Network, Credit Law Network, Mortgage Law Network and the Debt Law Network.
Unless you have been living under a rock for the last five years we have all seen or heard something identity theft. Hopefully, you have not been a victim of identity theft. If you have then you know what kind of horror story that follows. Although there has been quite a bit of information written about identity theft, many individuals haven't done enough about the problem.
Many consumers do not know how to put a fraud alert on their credit reports. I did it accidentally and I was shocked when I applied for credit and the fraud alert came up. It was easily handled and the matter proceeded smoothly enough. Although I was shocked at the time, I was glad how the transaction was accomplished. My friend and colleague, Steve Otto, recently wrote a blog on the Credit Law Network referring to how to place a fraud alert. I will not reiterate his advice, but I will say that I am going to keep a fraud alert on my credit reports. I have seen the horror stories and I have had client with horror stories. The unfortunate part of it all, is that it could have been easily prevented. Something to think about.
