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They seem to be common cases of identity theft: One person suddenly discovers $750,000 in credit card debt; another is charged for speeding tickets when he’s never been pulled over. But, there’s a puzzling twist to these stories: the victims are children.

Think Of The Children

A study by the ID Analytics Lab recently concluded that as many as 140,000 individuals under the age of 18 in the U.S. are victims of identity theft every year.

Committers of identity fraud are targeting minors more often because kids have clean records, and parents are unlikely to check their children’s credit history. As a result, identity theft can go undiscovered for a long time. Usually, victims of child identity theft don’t realize their identities have been stolen until they are of age to apply for a credit card or take out a loan.

A Clean Slate For The Taking

Since young children have fresh Social Security Numbers, fraudsters can easily tie the numbers to different birth dates and addresses, making ID theft even more difficult to track. The ID Analytics Lab found that in 60% of child identity theft cases, fraudulent use came from credit card or wireless activity.

But in some rare cases, the child’s identity is stolen by an immediate family member. In the ca Read more…

Tags: Identity Theft, Theft

Citigroup plans to launch a unique credit card on Monday that comes with no late fees or penalties. The card also boasts a single interest rate for purchases, balance transfers and cash advances, helping it stand out from its competition.

New Card Comes with Simple Terms

Citigroup’s Simplicity card is being marketed to individuals who are juggling busy schedules and want a credit card that has simple terms, such as a flat interest rate each month and no fees to worry about.

Jud Linville, CEO of Citi Cards, told the Associated Press, “It lets them not have to worry that they’re going to be late on a payment. It provides some flexibility.”

Since less than 5 percent of cards come without a late fee and only 8 percent charge a single interest rate for purchases, balance transfers and cash advances, some think this card will be considered a steal. However, because there are a few perceived drawbacks of the card, others say you’ll want to proceed with caution.

Drawbacks of the Simplicity Card

There are a few characteristics of the card that could be considered turnoffs, including:

• Higher interest rate: The card will be issued at a 16.99% APR, which is higher than last week’s average rate on the market of 14.4%. If you pay your

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Tags: Late Fees, No Late, No Late Fees, Penalties

Everyone who’s feeling the side-effects of a bad credit score wants to know one thing – how to get a better credit score. Don’t expect a quick fix. Improving your credit score takes time. Just how much work you need depends on where your credit stands right now.

Don’t make the mistake of believing a better credit score comes from simply removing negative information. That’s only part of what it takes to repair your credit. To take your credit score from bad to great, you need several months, even years, of positive payment history and a good credit utilization. Read these details on how to improve your credit score and take it one step at a time.

Tags: Better Credit, Better Credit Score, Credit Score, Score

The Equal Credit Opportunity Act, often referred to as ECOA,  prohibits credit discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, marital status, age, or because you get public assistance.  The creditors can ask for this information but cant use it in making the decision to give you credit or setting the credit terms.

Creditors make decisions using credit reports, credit scores, ie data, asset data, and debt data. The type of loan or credit offer determines what data theyll likely use.  The Equal Credit Opportunity Act is enforced by the Federal Trademission (FTC).  This Act applies to anypany or person that extends credit, such as banks, financepanies, retailers, credit cardpanies, credit unions, and real estate brokers.

What creditors cannot do when you apply for credit

• Reject your application because of your race, color, religion, national origin, sex, marital status, or because you receive public assistance.
• Consider your race, sex or national origin, but you may be asked to disclose this information.
• Give you different terms or conditions, such as higher interest rate, because of your race, religion, national origin, sex, marital status, age, or because you receive public assistance.
• Ask if you are widowed or divorced; can only use the terms: married, unmarried or separated.
• Ask your marital status if applying for an individual, unsecured account such as a credit card. This e

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Tags: Act, Credit Opportunity, Credit Opportunity Act, Opportunity Act

The obvious answer would be that it is deleted, but that isn’t true.  The Social Security Administration reports the Social Security Number as belonging to someone who is deceased.  The credit reporting agencies place an indicator or “flag” on the credit report indicating that that this Social Security Number belongs to a deceased person.

While it makes sense, the credit report is not deleted to prevent new accounts being opened using the retired Social Security Number.  The SSN is, however, included in an identity theft database of deceased Social Security Numbers created by the Social Security Administration and is used by most fraud detection databases.

If the credit grantor is notified of the death, the account holder is reported as deceased.  The entire credit file is not “flagged” because of the account.  If the deceased individual shared joint or authorized user accounts with someone such as a spouse, the deceased notice will be indicated on this account on the spouse’s credit report as well.  In this case, the deceased name needs to be removed from the joint account and switched to an individual account. Credit grantors u

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Tags: Credit Report, Report