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In November 2007, the Federal Trade Commission released its 2006 report about the problem of identity theft in the usa. It is a problem that has special implications for charge card users. According to the report, approximately 8. 3 million Americans were victims of identity theft of 1 form or another within the previous year. The most common type included misuse of already existing accounts. Of those, 61% were credit card accounts. Two findings of this study are particularly important if you're a victim of identity theft. Very first, and perhaps most obvious, the sooner the theft is located out, the less severe the deficits, both in terms of time as well as money. In cases where detection occurred a lot more than six months after the fact, 30% of victims reported out of pocket losses more than $1000. The number drops to 10% whenever detection occurred sooner. In terms of time spent resolving problems due to theft, 32% of those in the greater than six month group spent under
ten hours fixing problems. The number rises to 69% within the less than six month group. The 2nd finding concerns how theft occurred. 84% of these surveyed responded that they did not really know the thief. In fact, only 5% of victims of misuse of existing charge card accounts knew who committed the criminal offense. Clearly, the foregoing facts point to constant vigilance since the key to avoiding identity theft and minimizing any damage if it will occur. What does this mean specifically since it applies to your credit cards? While that is certainly necessary to exercise care in online charge card use, the attention devoted to high-tech incidences of identity theft may sometimes obscure the truth that most abuse is the result associated with good old-fashioned on the job larceny. Thus, concentrating on a few simple things will greatly enhance your likelihood of avoiding enriching the lives of strangers at the expense. For example, sign the card once you receive it. Of cours
e, this doesn't mean much when, as in the majority of cases, the merchant does not bother to check on it, but it certainly does not really hurt. In addition, though many transactions occur online and within the phone, there is still a lots of of paper out there that may have vital credit card information on this. Make sure you keep all bills, and shred those you do get rid of. Speaking of paper, tear up the pre-approved card offers receive within the mail; otherwise, they can be stolen and repaid in with a change of tackle request. Good record keeping will also help to keep the wolves from your door. Keep a summary of all credit cards and their appropriate contact numbers handy in the event of theft or loss. Also, be vigilant in checking monthly statements to ensure all purchases on a card tend to be valid. Finally, though it may appear obvious, make sure you get your card back after creating a purchase. One of the findings of the actual 2006 FTC report on identity thievery
was that abuse of existing credit card accounts is among the most common types of identity thievery. Most of the time, it appears it's a crime of opportunity. As such, it's also often the easiest to prevent if your few simple precautions are taken.






Michael creates for credit card site Card Sense, where one can apply for a range of credit cards including bad credit credit cards and much more.

View this post on my blog: http://creditcard.valuegov.com/identity-theft-and-credit-card-safety/
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