Learn more about fraud prevention and how you can avoid the unwise use of credit…
As you build wealth in the current economy with technology improvements and data breaches occurring on a consistent basis, you want to know how to guard against the breaching of your data and do all you can on the front end to prevent data breaches or respond more effectively in the event of a data breach that involves your identifying information.
You also want to be aware of credit and finance promotional offers that you may be bombarded with at the various stages of your life as many offer credit to unsuspecting consumers at high rates of interest or terms and conditions that work for their (credit issuer’s) best interest–and not yours.
And just as you must be aware of how you build wealth from an internal point of view, you also need to be aware of fraudsters and scammers who are all around you (external or outside point of view), if you sincerely desire to achieve at a higher level than most.
In the last post in which the creator of TheWealthIncreaser.com submitted to the internet universe, the inspiration that was received at the time of that post was thought by the creator of TheWealthIncreaser.com to be a post that could help many, however the first week was unusually slow as visitors trickled in, however most recently visitors have taken a liking to the post and it is now helping many build wealth in a more thoughtful, engaging and eye-opening manner as visitor comments continue to come in on a constant basis about how the page has led them to analyze and approach the management of their finances in a different way and put them on a more prosperous path toward wealth building.
In this discussion TheWealthIncreaser.com will discuss what you can do to guard against fraud in various forms and also discuss why you must be more aware of unscrupulous creditors and others who are working day and night to entice you into making decisions that “are not” good for you and your family.
By utilizing credit monitoring, freezing of your credit and fraud alerts–you can better protect your finances and achieve more throughout your lifetime.
Credit monitoring allows you to review the accounts on your credit reports from one or more of the 3 national credit reporting agencies. You can go to annualcreditreport.com (877-322-8228) to get a free report from each bureau once per year or you can purchase a copy. Keep in mind that bank accounts and payday loans that could be opened up using your identifying information would not be picked up by most monitoring services.
Whether you utilize free sites or paid sites–in this day and time you want to monitor your accounts, either by self-monitoring or a paid service:
Transunion
PO Box 1000
Chester, PA 19016-1000
1-800-888-4213
Equifax
PO Box 740241
Atlanta, GA 30374-0241
1-866-349-5191
Experian
PO Box 2002
Allen, TX 75013-9701
1-866-200-6020
Freezing your credit allows you to freeze your credit file so that no new credit can be opened in your name “without” the use of a PIN or (Personal Identification Number) that is issued to you when you initiate a freeze.
The goal of freezing your credit is to prevent potential credit grantors from access to your credit report without your consent.
You must temporarily lift the freeze in order for creditors to gain access. You will in essence have a “delay” in your ability to obtain credit. If you were looking to buy a house and get a home mortgage–there would be a delay but generally not be of consequence. By law credit freezes are available at no cost to you, however you must contact each credit bureau individually to implement the freeze.
Lifting of Freeze–online or by phone the credit reporting agency must do so within 1 hour–by mail 3 business days.
Implementing a freeze–online or by phone the credit reporting agency has 1 business day after receiving your request–by mail 3 business days.
NOTE: The IRS also offer an Identity Protection PIN or IP PIN that you can utilize to help safeguard against the fraudulent filing of your taxes.
If you are now or in the future become the victim of a data breach you may want to consider freezing your credit:
Transunion
PO Box 160
Woodlyn, PA 19094
1-800-916-8800
www.transunion.com/credit-freeze
Equifax
PO Box 105788
Atlanta, GA 30348-5788
1-888-298-0045
www.equifax.com/personal/credit-report-services
Experian
PO Box 9554
Allen, TX 75013-9554
1-888-397-3742
www.experian.com/freeze/center.html
Fraud alerts will allow you to place an “initial” or “extended” fraud alert on your file(s) at no cost.
Upon seeing a fraud alert a business is required to take steps to verify your identity “before” extending new credit. If you are a victim of ID theft you can extend the alert for up to 7 years! By contacting one bureau and placing the alert–they will notify the other 2 bureaus.
You also have the option to put an initial fraud alert on your account that is valid for one year if you desire additional protection on top of monitoring and freezing of your credit:
Transunion
PO Box 2000
Chester, PA 19016-2000
1-800-680-7289
www.transunion.com/fraud-alerts
Equifax
PO Box 105069
Atlanta, GA 30348-5069
1-800-525-6285
www.equifax.com/personal/credit-report-services/credit-fraud-alerts/
Experian
PO Box 9554
Allen, TX 75013-9554
1-888-397-3742
www.experian.com/fraud/center.html
By utilizing credit monitoring, freezing of your credit and fraud alerts–you can better protect your finances and achieve more in a safer way. They are cost effective ways that you can use to prevent, respond to or minimize the effects of fraud in your life.
Although setting up fraud alerts and freezing your credit will take time, it will be worth every minute if you can prevent unauthorized activity on your financial accounts. Credit monitoring (make sure all 3 credit bureaus are being monitored with the service you select) will also take a few minutes a week of your time and it too can be time well spent.
You can now set up credit alerts and other alerts with your creditors, bankers and others whom you have a financial relationship with that will provide alerts and monitor your information on the world wide web, including the dark web.
Other Options:
Contact the FTC & Your State AG’s Office
If you find information on your credit report that appears fraudulent or you feel information on you have been misused, you can also contact your local law enforcement and the FTC and your states Attorney General’s office. Be sure to get a copy of the police report as the report can potentially relieve you of the debt obligation created by the fraudster with your creditor(s).
Federal Trade Commission
FTC Consumer Response Center
600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20580
1-877-IDTHEFT (438-4338)
www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/microsites/idtheft
The above contact data for the 3 credit bureaus and the FTC are current as of 06/21/2024
Learn More about Consumer Reporting Agencies that You Need to be Aware of…
If you suspect Investment Fraud:
Call—800-732-0330 SEC Commission or go to www.sec.gov
To obtain background information on a broker or brokerage firm call 800-289-9999 or go to www.finra.org/investors/toolscalculator/brokercheck
How to choose a Financial Advisor…
Investments & Personal Finance Page…
Investment Simplification & Wealth Building
On your personal taxes you can help prevent fraud by getting an IP PIN that will help prevent the fraudulent filing of taxes by a fraudster as they will need to know your PIN even if they have your other identifying data.
Credit Solicitations & Wealth Building
In the current economy credit offers abound and if you are new to credit or lack the needed credit management skills, you can find yourself victim to unscrupulous creditors.
It is not uncommon for college graduates, undergraduates and others to receive offers from various creditors, and many jump at those offers with no real concern for their future obligations (they fail to begin with the end in mind). Many creditors offer to loan you money or provide actual checks that you can cash immediately that are tempting and could put you on the hook of paying interest at rates over 30%.
Other offers may appear more reasonable such as 8% or less, however they too can put you in a more dire position if you jump at the offer and you do not have a comprehensive overview of your finances. Still others will offer you credit cards of varying credit limits–even if you have no need or desire to utilize credit or have a credit file.
You want to look at the fine print of all offers that you are considering and know the details of your engagement on the front end–not after the fact.
You want to know your APR, Finance Charge, Amount Financed and your Total Payments prior to engagement with creditors, as by knowing that information you can determine how bad (or good) the offer really is.
In many instances you have better options, and you want to pursue those options “prior to” making a bad decision or a decision that you will later regret due to lack of preparation, high pressure, lack of knowledge, time limit pressure and other negative occurrences whether created by you or outside forces!
Conclusion
The cloudy and cluttered view that you have of your credit and financial future ends now!
You want to guard against identity theft and other occurrences or potential occurrences of a negative nature in your credit and financial life.
Even the federal government in the United States are taking steps to reduce fraud as they now (2024 and beyond) require many small employers that are LLC’s or Corporations to provide certain (BOIR) beneficial ownership information reporting, so that illicit pass-through activity and reporting can be better traced. This reporting is required by FinCen and the deadline for reporting is January 1, 2025.
Phone and email fraudsters are out in abundance and their goal is to get you to provide personally identifiable data or click on dangerous links whether text or email. Other fraudsters and scammers will attempt to gain your trust and get you to provide usernames and passwords so that they can access your data and ultimately breach your accounts.
If you desire a more comprehensive approach in the management and protection of your credit and finances, consider purchasing 1-2-3 Credit & Me and take life changing control of your finances from this day forward in a way that can put you on a path to achieving all of your goals in a more definitive way.
You already know the importance of “looking within yourself” and improving in areas that you are weak.
You also need to look externally (political, regulatory, economic, societal, technological and legal happenings where you reside) to see moves that you can make that will serve your better interests. In the societal realm, you may have unscrupulous players who may be out to scam you out of your hard-earned cash.
In the event that your data is breached and your identifying information is under the care of a company or industry, many will notify you of the breach and often provide free credit monitoring for a year or more if you sign up–and if you find yourself a victim and the service is offered, you want to strongly consider it, particularly if you do not have a paid service at the time of the breach.
If you are elderly, you want to be particularly cautious about financial moves that you anticipate making!
You don’t have to put yourself in position to be taken advantage of by creditors, lenders, scammers and others–as you deserve a better approach when it comes to the management of your credit and finances, and you now have those approaches at your fingertips, if you are now ready to take action of a proactive nature!
To help prevent fraud, you want to implement common sense actions that you can take yourself to prevent scams such as:
*Filter unwanted emails to your spam folder and block unwanted calls and texts and do updates and use the latest internet search browser when possible!
*Don’t give in to anyone pressuring or threatening you into giving them your personal information!
*Hang up phone or don’t respond to requests for information or money on contacts (calls, emails, text messages etcetera) that you did not initiate!
*Even if you are contacted by a business that you recognize, don’t give out your personal or financial info to anyone!
*If anyone says you must act immediately, stop and ask–is this how a company that I wish to do business with should act? If you feel uneasy, there is a good chance that you are right!
*Instead of clicking links in emails and text messages or calling numbers that you did not request, use a company’s real contact information from their “official” website!
*If someone tells you to keep a secret or say something suspicious and you are not comfortable, stop the conversation and discuss what has occurred with a trusted family member or someone else you trust!
*Be sure to consider multi-factor authentication with your banking, investment, retirement and other financial accounts–particularly those with large balances or high credit limits!
*Be on the lookout for those who pretend to be someone you know, offer you a prize or the ability to help you or a family member get out of trouble, pressure you to act before you have had time to think it over and ask you to pay in a specific manner whether by payment app, wire, gift card or check!
You want to remain vigilant and be alert for incidents of fraud by reviewing account statements and monitoring free or paid credit reports that are available. Look for accounts or creditor inquiries that you did not initiate or recognize and make sure all of your data in your credit files from all three credit reporting agencies are accurate.
Also be alert for suspicious calls and emails and never give out identifying information unless you initiate the call or email and you are certain of who you are communicating with!
Always realize that you have rights under the fair credit reporting act (FCRA) which governs the collection and use of information about you by consumer reporting agencies. You can learn more about your rights under the FCRA by going to:
www.consumer.ftc.gov/sites/default/files/articles/pdf/pdf-0096-fair-credit-reporting-act.pdf
In addition to being alert for fraudsters and scammers, you also want to be aware of marketing activity that may be aimed at you that promotes reward and other credit cards, retail cards, personal loans and other promotions of varying types as they can in many cases lead you astray–and off of your well planned path that you need or plan to take. You want to determine as best you can on the front end if the promotion that is offered fits in with your goals–whether they be your short, intermediate, or long-term goals.
Generally, if you have 5 or 6 credit cards that would possibly be sufficient for building and maintaining your credit as long as you are managing them effectively over time on a consistent basis—ultimately it all depends on your goals. If you have credit card debt and desire to pay the debt off efficiently with lower interest going to the credit issuer, let’s say you have credit card debt of $4,000 and you get a zero percent promotion offer and you generally know that you can qualify based on your credit score–you still want to run the numbers upfront to determine if there is a real benefit for you.
Can I pay off the $4,000 with the discretionary income that I have available in the 18 month zero percent interest payment promotional period or window and still meet all of my other obligations on a monthly basis?
To eliminate the debt of $4,000 you would have to pay roughly $220 per month for the next 18 months!
In addition, if you apply for a new card you generally won’t know the credit amount that you would be approved for in advance and you would normally have a 3% or 4% transfer fee, meaning if you were to transfer $4,000 of debt, your new balance with the credit issuer would be $4,120 at a 3% transfer rate or $4,160 at a 4% transfer rate.
If you were paying interest monthly at 20% on a $4,000 balance prior to the transfer, your monthly interest would be roughly $80 per month–meaning in 2 or 3 months you would have paid more than the transfer fee–giving you a real opportunity to pay off your remaining balance in roughly 18 months at zero percent interest–saving you well over $1,000 whether the transfer fee was 3% or 4%–therefore there is a serious advantage for you to transfer in this scenario if you have the “discretionary income” and credit score that qualifies you for the promotional credit card with a credit limit of $4,000 or higher–and even less–depending on your goals!
You also must be disciplined and highly motivated to pay off the debt in an efficient manner!
Once that payoff of $4,000 has ended after 18 months, you could choose to invest that $220 that you have become accustomed to living without for say–10, 20, or 30 years and have a nice windfall in a relatively painless way!
In closing, realize that unscrupulous actors are all around you and particularly as it relates to your finances and the building of wealth, however there is no reason for you to fear your financial future if you get out in front of your finances. It is your responsibility to put yourself in a winning financial position so that you can’t be easily taken advantage of as it relates to your finances!
By understanding the life stages of your finances and looking at your finances in a comprehensive way at the earliest time possible, you can put yourself in position for greater success and better guard against fraudulent actors that will eventually come your way at some point in your life.
All the best to avoiding fraud, being susceptible to non-beneficial marketing techniques and otherwise turning your finances into a mess…
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