GUdelis lawsuit
Ultimate Identity Theft Fraud Tips from Gudelis and Straat
Identity fraud occurs when a person’s personal information is used by someone else without their knowledge to obtain credit, goods or other services fraudulently. It can even extend to securing a passport in their name.
More than one in ten Americans — nearly 25 million adults in the United States — were victims of some type of consumer fraud in 2003. Fraud poses a threat to consumers and the economy as a whole. Even the most wary and sophisticated consumers may fall victim to fraudulent offers in the mail, in the media, and on the Internet. Fraud steals your money, your identity and even your self-respect. Protect yourself by learning to recognize fraud.
Ultimate Tip -To prevent fraud or identity theft, you must review your three in one credit report every 2 months. Gudelis and Straat personally use www.myfico.com and you can also sign up for an alert service with myfico whereby you will receive an email if anything changes in your credit report.
For example, you will be emailed if a credit pull / inquiry is made and if you don’t recognize the name of the mortgage company that pulled your credit – then you have potential fraud / identity theft going on. Someone pretending to be you can commit mortgage fraud and actually buy a house without you even knowing it!
If you suspect any type of credit inquiry - Contact the fraud departments of any one of the three consumer reporting companies to place a fraud alert on your credit report. A fraud alert tells creditors to follow certain procedures before open any new accounts...this can save you thousands of dollars as if someone obtains a mortgage without your knowledge…that can take years to fix!
Carefully examine each entry on your credit report and make sure that everything is accurate, up-to-date, and complete. You can also hire a fantastic company that Gudelis and Straat recommends – Credit Empowerment that can help monitor your credit report and improve your score!
Gudelis and Straat strongly urge you to call each credit reporting bureau (Transunion, Equifax and Experian) and also write to them certified registered receipt the following:
Please place this alert on my report immediately. Also, please keep this for at least seven (7) years. I have provided you with the necessary identification.
Please also immediately cease from selling my name on promotion to any credit grantor or other agency. Take my name off all promotional lists for at least five years as per federal law.
How Can Your Identity Be Stolen?
Internet Sites – Anybody that uses the internet will regularly be asked to share personal information to gain access to websites and buy goods.
Fraudsters can combine the personal information you provide to unsecured internet sites such as your mother’s maiden name with other bits of valuable information they glean about you to obtain credit in your name.
Internet Sites – Anybody that uses the internet will regularly be asked to share personal information to gain access to websites and buy goods.
Fraudsters can combine the personal information you provide to unsecured internet sites such as your mother’s maiden name with other bits of valuable information they glean about you to obtain credit in your name.
Phishing – This term describes identity theft via email. Fraudsters will send an email claiming to be from a bank, credit card company or other organisation, with which you might have a relationship, asking for urgent information.
Typically the email will ask you to click on a link to enter your account details on the company’s website to protect against fraud or to avoid your account being deactivated. But if you click on the link in the email you will be taken to a website which looks genuine but has in fact been created by fraudsters to trick you into revealing your private information. The fraudsters then use the information provided to set about obtaining money from your accounts.
Corporate Identity Theft – It is not just the individual at risk, but also companies. By accessing publicly available company records fraudsters will change names of company principals and registered addresses. They will then trade off the back of the real company’s good name and obtain goods and services on credit from suppliers. This is not the only area of risk. Company bank details may be in the public arena in order to encourage customers to pay for goods directly into the company’s bank account. Fraudsters will obtain signatures from the public records and attempt to attack these company bank accounts by purporting to be the signatory on the account.
Kind regards, Maria Gudelis
