With identity theft such a large issue today, I've developed an interest in the protection of personal credit and other information. I've found an article at MSNBC that gives an overview of a new service offered by the three credit agencies, one that allows individuals to "lock out" their credit profiles such that no one -- thieves included -- can use their information for nefarious purposes. This service offers almost fool-proof protection for your identity and credit. The bad news, it will probably cost you money to start and each time that you use the service. Also, since it locks out everyone, even those you want to be able to see your credit reports -- say mortgage companies or automobile dealers -- will be in the dark too unless you take additional steps. It sounds more complicated here than it really is and, if you've ever read the horror stories surrounding the repair of personal credit or identity theft, you'll think it is a small price to pay in terms of both time and money. Details for the three agencies can be found on the web sites for Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. Note that the experts suggest that you take advantage of the annually-available free credit reports available by law to all US citizens. Info on this service can be found here.
One more thing to note, although it is only tangentially related. There is now a free service offered by the three credit monitoring agencies that allows you to opt-out of those annoying junk mail credit card offers, insurance offers, and other similar credit-necessary offers. To learn more about this service, see this link.
8 January 2008
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