He spent over 17 years in the banking industry in the U.K and then a further 8 years in Canada. For the last 20 years he was a senior executive for two private sector companies. He was chief operating officer and chief financial officer for the first company and the Quality Manager and General Manager, for a company which was ISO registered. As a recently retired Canadian Small Business advisor and mentor, he is moving his attention into the internet world of small business, where his past experience and knowledge, will prove of significant value and will grow as he learns how the internet business world thinks and works. He has undertaken an internet joint venture with three colleagues that he has met through a membership site in 2007 and intends to expand his horizons during 2008.
This is the sixth in a series of articles which will increase your awareness about Identity Theft.
It’s a typical weekend. You drove to your friend’s house, asked your
friend to hang out with you at the mall while having a shopping spree. The two of you then met a group of your friends at the local bar to have a few drinks and some food while you all talked about what happened during the past week. Before you left the bar you paid the bill with your credit card. After a great night you all went home and slept.
The next morning, you checked your mail which included your credit card billing statement. As you looked at it, you were shocked to see
that you had been charged on your credit card for things that you never purchased. You called the bank to advise them of the problem and asked them to remove the charges that you were disputing, from your account. The bank advised that they would look into the matter and get back to you when they had investigated the charges. At about this time you are getting upset, because you expected the bank to take your word for the disputed charges and clean up your account without delay, and you are wondering how these charges could possibly have ended up on your account.
If you have suffered through this kind of experience then you know that you may have been a victim of Identity Theft. This crime is called Identity Theft or identity fraud. Identity Theft is a crime perpetrated against you after someone obtains and uses your personal data, such as your name, credit card number, address, social security number, etc., without you knowing about it. In many cases, because you were using your credit card, the bank, after making enquiries, would probably have refunded the amount of the disputed charges, leaving them as the victim of the theft.
If you think that you have been a victim of Identity Theft you
should try to proceed as follows:
• File a police report. Be sure to obtain a copy of the police report. You may need to show it to third parties to help substantiate your claim that you have been victimised.
• Advise your local credit bureau, by phone and follow up with a written report. You only need to contact one credit reporting agency, as they will automatically pass on the information to other credit bureaus. Once you have filed your complaint you can request that any new credit enquiries be reported to you as they arise, so that you can provide input into the response that the credit bureau needs to provide.
• If someone is using counterfeit checks drawn on your account, then also file a report with any local check verification companies.
Identity Theft is a very serious crime. If you ever suspect that you
are a victim of Identity Theft, it would be prudent to immediately report the crime to all authorities concerned.
Attempting to have your credit history restored to its previous level of respectability, after suffering from Identity Theft can be a very time consuming, expensive, and difficult task.
John Ritchie,
Copyright to this article belongs to John Ritchie. http://www.johnritchieonline.com
For more detailed information on Identity Theft, and to sign up for our 5 part e-course, go to http://www.identitytheftpreventionplan.com.
You may download and distribute this article freely and without restrictions. You must not, however, delete the resource box link.
- Related Videos
- Related Articles
- Ask / Related Q&A
- Identity Theft Protection and Awareness for Travelers
- Understand Identity Theft - Tips To Protect Yourself
- Identity Theft Caused From Using Stolen Credit Card Information
- Useful Tips For Identity Theft Prevention - Guard Your Financial Records
- Identity Theft Statistics
- Preventing Identity Theft - Don't Lose Your Identity
- How To Prevent Identity Theft - Check Credit Reports Regularly
- Protection Against Identity Theft
Get Tickets for Important Events and Sell Them on EBay
By: R Vignesh Kumar | 25/11/2009How many times have you not wondered how all those people from eBay managed to get tickets. If you are curios to find out their secrets and more tips about how to make money by selling tickets on eBay, you have chosen the right article.
Postcard Marketing Made Too Easy with the Million Mail Program
By: Brother John Hostick | 25/11/2009Learn how to do postcard marketing the easy way with the Million Mail Program.
Become Rich with the Right Postcard Marketing Tips and the Million Mail Program
By: Brother John Hostick | 25/11/2009Become rich with the right postcard marketing tips and the Million Mail Program today.
Home Employment Agency Find The Perfected Home Job
By: Lorna Darden | 25/11/2009HomeJobStop.com is an legitimated and safe way to find the perfected home job, home business or business opportunity. There are thousands of listings to choose from, all companies are legit and you can directly contact them yourself.
Big Bucks Earned Making Money From Home Work!
By: Channon Rudolph | 25/11/2009We all know their are tons of ways to make money online. In fact type the words "make money from home work" and you'll get 191,043 ads and sites on this keyword alone! But i'm writing this article not to tell you what you already know but to uncover the secrets to any make money opportunity...
MLM Blog Tips –How Your MLM Blog Can Help You Make Money
By: Sandra Essex | 25/11/2009These MLM blog tips can help you make money. People have known about Blogging for many years but it has really taken off within the last three years on the Internet as a way to build your MLM business. It started out as a way for people to take their everyday experiences online to share with their friends, family and co-workers.
Seven Simple Marketing Strategies
By: Bob Howard | 25/11/2009When it comes to marketing strategies often it is the simple ideas that are most overlooked and yet are the most effective things to do. Here are a few strategies that are easy to implement but can make an impact in your marketing efforts.
Make Millions with Offline Marketing in the Million Mail Program Now
By: Brother John Hostick | 25/11/2009Find out how you can make millions with offline marketing and the Million Mail Program...
Read email programs
By: John Ritchie | 06/09/2009 | Home BusinessSome of you have joined “read email” programs because most of these programs have a FREE membership option, which will also pay you in cash for your efforts, once your income reaches a predetermined minimum level.Some of these programs will pay about 1 cent for each email that you read and some of them only permit you to earn from a few emails each day.Recently a newer group of companies have established themselves on the internet and they are offering substantially higher payments.
Comprehensive List of Steps Needed to Prevent Identity Theft
By: John Ritchie | 11/09/2008 | Home BusinessThe fifth in a series of informational articles entitled, Awareness of Identity Theft, This article covers problems faced by Identity Theft victims and should be read by anyone who has established a good credit rating or wishes to attain a good credit rating and is determined not to surrender it to Identity Theft.
Combating Online Identity Theft
By: John Ritchie | 10/09/2008 | Home BusinessThe fourth in a series of informational articles entitled, Awareness of Identity Theft, This article covers problems faced by Identity Theft victims and should be read by anyone who has established a good credit rating or wishes to attain a good credit rating and is determined to keep that record in good standing.
Check Your Credit Report Regularly to Avoid Becoming a Victim of Identity Theft
By: John Ritchie | 08/09/2008 | Home BusinessThe third in a series of informational articles entitled, Awareness of Identity Theft, This article covers problems faced by Identity Theft victims and should be read by anyone who has established a good credit rating and is determined to keep that record in good standing.
Identity Theft Victim Finds Life is Now Tough
By: John Ritchie | 07/09/2008 | Home BusinessThe second in a series of informational articles entitled, Awareness of Identity Theft, This article covers problems faced by Identity Theft victims and should be read by anyone who has established a good credit rating and is determined to keep that record in good standing.
8 Million Hotel Guests Face Risk of Identity Theft
By: John Ritchie | 07/09/2008 | Home BusinessThe first in a series of informational articles entitled, Awareness of Identity Theft, This article covers details of a major leak of confidential information that should be of concern to all and should be read by anyone who has established a good credit rating and is determined to keep that record in good standing.
Training for Success With Your Internet Business, Article 10 Promotional Items
By: John Ritchie | 25/08/2008 | Home BusinessThe tenth in a series of training articles entitled, Training for Success with Your Internet Business, This article covers Promotional Items, and is a must read for all business owners, whether they are operating an on line home based business, or a regular home based business. The tips and suggestions are provided from real life situations as seen and experienced by the author.