Experian Identity Theft

D ecember is Identity Theft Prevention and Awareness Month. According to the February 2007 Identity Fraud Survey Report issued by Javelin Strategy & Research, identity theft affected approximately 8.4 million people. The estimated loss to business and individual victims was $43.9 billion. Often, ID theft victims don't even realize their identity was stolen. They may find out when a creditor or collection agency calls or a credit card is declined. To help consumers protect their identity, a number of credit monitoring and insurance protection programs are available. But, are these products right for you? Most experts recommend that you obtain a copy of your credit report at least once a year from each of the three major credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian and TransUnion) to ensure accuracy and to look for signs of ID theft.

Leukemia Survivor Takes on Bank of America, Citibank, Chase, and CRAs ...

SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 25 /PRNewswire/ -- Five years ago, Eric Drew was on his death bed with leukemia when his identity was stolen by a worker at the hospital where he was being treated. Drew survived cancer, but has taken on another battle; he has filed suit against some of America's largest banks and credit reporting agencies in a case of identity theft.

In Drew's case, the defendants issued credit in his name to a fraudulent address in the state of Washington, where he was hospitalized and undergoing treatment, but wasn't a resident.

Use free reports to monitor, clean up your credit

CREDIT REPORTS show the good, the bad and the ugly in your financial life.

They also provide the basis for calculating your credit score, which among other things is used to determine what interest rate you pay on a loan or whether you even get a loan in the first place.

That's why it's so important for consumers to obtain a free credit report once a year from each of the country's three major credit reporting bureaus: Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. Passage of a federal law in 2003 made this possible.

Going over your credit report helps you find out not only if there are mistakes that could lower your credit score, but also whether you are an identity-theft victim.

Sandra Chapin, program director at the San Mateo-based Consumer Federation of California, ordered her credit reports a few weeks ago.

HOW TO DO IT

Here's how to submit a security freeze request to each of the three national credit bureaus.

There's no charge for identity theft victims, but you must submit a police report.

Experian and Equifax require you to submit your request by certified mail; TransUnion does not.

New Urban Research, Inc. Announces Mapping Indiana Communities GIS and ...

Using ESRI ArcGIS 9.2 software, participants will leave the class with a thorough understanding of three core GIS applications:
Thematic Mapping � Attendees will create color-coded maps of their data that displays information trends.
Geocoding � Attendees will map the addresses of their projects, clients or incident areas.
Spatial Analysis � Attendees will extract and map subsets of variables from Census data.
Workshop participants will also receive a free 30-day subscription to the Shapefile Warehouse, an archive of Census Bureau data in GIS-ready data files. For every county in the United States, New Urban Research has obtained the 20 most common geographies (Street Networks, Political Boundaries, Census Blocks/Tracts, Traffic, etc.) from 2005 Census TIGER files and converted them to ESRI shapefile formats ready to import into a GIS.

Cousin says Cassidy suspect vowed to shoot, not surrender

The fugitive will be photographed, fingerprinted and locked up pending arraignment, when he will face murder charges in connection with what happened Oct. 31. It was during an attempted robbery at a Dunkin' Donuts, police said, that Lewis shot Cassidy, who died the next day.

Lewis told his cousin he would blast his way through more police if he had to and he brandished two handguns, the report said.