Of course you can! Many of our readers, and even yours truly has cleared up a few blemishes on their reports. And by the way: everything a credit repair clinic can do for you, you can do for yourself at little or no cost.

There is no charge for requesting an investigation. The whole key to the credit repair procedure is that if the credit bureaus cannot verify information on your credit report they must remove it. For instance, if a credit bureau cannot contact a collection agency which is reporting a collection on your report, they cannot verify the information, and the credit bureau must delete the entry.

Basic Credit Repair Strategy

IDENTITY THEFT: THE FASTEST GROWING CRIME IN AMERICA NEW STRATEGIES TO HELP YOU AVOID BECOMING A VICTIM

Imagine what it would be like to wake up one morning to find bills for credit cards youve never applied for, phone bills under your name that dont belong to you, or getting a threatening call from a collector wanting payment for a car you didnt buy. You would probably be confused and frustrated at first. Then that confusion would turn to anger and fear when you realize your credit”and your good namehave been severely damaged. What would you do? How do you undo it? How much money has been spent in your name? How did this happen? How many yous" are there out there in the world applying for jobs, credit and a drivers license in YOUR name?

Unfortunately, this scenario is exactly what thousands of people experience every day. It is identity theft, and it is growing in the U.S. at an alarming rate. In fact, it is the FASTEST GROWING CRIME in America. Now more than ever, a persons identity has become their most valuable asset. Protecting that asset is paramount not only for the safety of your clients but also for their ability to acquire credit. There are numerous villains out there preying on innocent victims who simply do not know how to protect their identities from being stolen.

We bring attention to identity theft now because the nature of the crime is changing rapidly, with thieves becoming more and more clever at obtaining information. Theyll break into a car not for a fancy stereo, but for a bank statement carelessly left in the back seat. Theyll dig through your trash for tossed-out credit card applications. Theyll even ask for the information point blank, and unknowing victims simply give them what they want, without knowing the danger associated with it.

Identity theft CAN BE PREVENTED!

You cannot stress enough how important it is for your clients to protect their information. Their personal identity should be safeguarded just as they would protect diamonds, their home or dear family heirlooms. Material possessions can be insured and replaced. Identities are one of a kind and, although the damage can be repaired, it is much easier to prevent the situation from happening. As we learn more about this crime, we will continue to share with you information about how to combat it, and how to repair the damage once it has been done.

These are valuable steps you can share with your clients to help them keep their private information private and ensure that someone else isnt slaughtering their good name.

Step number one is getting a credit monitoring service

THE FACTS ABOUT IDENTITY THEFT

• Identity theft is now the fastest-growing crime in America.
• Per the Federal Trade Commission and Consumer Federation of America, approximately 9-10 million consumers become victims of identity theft every year.
• This crime is costing consumers approximately $5 billion a year and banks and institutions $48 billion a year to cover the total amounts stolen.
• Online transactions are the least-used method by ID thieves, but the method that consumers fear the most.
• It used to be that consumers were only responsible for paying $50.00 towards fraudulent charges made to their credit cards, but creditors have changed their contracts. In many cases, if you do not notify your creditors within a 60 day period that the charges do not belong to you, you could be personally responsible for some of those charges in full. This is why it is so important to check your statements and credit reports as often as possible.

HOW IDENTITIES ARE STOLEN

First they steal personal information by:

• Stealing personal information from a wallet or purse. Lost or stolen wallets and purses are still and have always been the number-one method of identity theft.
• Going through mail or trash looking for items like bank statements, credit card statements and pre-approved credit card offers.
• Redirecting mail by submitting a Change of Address form to the post office.
• Acquiring credit reports by pretending to be a potential landlord, or employer.
• Pretending to be one a creditor calling on the phone to update account information.
• Getting information from employment records.
• Phishing scams on the Internet (posing as one a creditor or bank asking to update personal information in their files.)

Then they use it to:

• Open new credit card accounts in someone elses name.
• Open a bank account and write bad checks.
• Counterfeit ATM cards or checks and get access to others account.
• Purchase new cars in someone elses name.
• Open utility and cell phone accounts in someone elses name.
• And some even go so far as filing for bankruptcy to avoid paying for the debt they have incurred in anothers name.

HOW TO PREVENT IDENTITY THEFT

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