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Take steps to prevent identity theft

In its alert notices to the field regarding the compromised NCO promotion lists, Human Resources Command recommended that soldiers access the Federal Trade Commission’s Web site at http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/microsites/idtheft for guidance on avoiding identity theft.

The site includes a link specifically designed for service members and their families.

Identity theft occurs when “personally identifying information” such as a person’s name or Social Security number is used without that person’s permission to commit fraud or other crimes.

The Federal Trade Commission recommends that when personally identifying information is compromised, people should immediately place a fraud alert on their credit file.

Such alerts can help prevent an identity thief from modifying an existing credit account or opening a new account in the person’s name.

The fraud alert remains in place for 90 days. During that period, creditors are required to contact the person before a new credit card is issued or an existing account is changed.

People can place a fraud alert by contacting one of the nation’s three consumer reporting companies. The company contacted by the person will notify the other two companies so that a credit alert will be placed on all three versions of a person’s credit report.

Once a person places a fraud alert on their file, he or she is entitled to order one free copy of their credit report from each of the consumer reporting companies.

The companies each have toll-free numbers for establishing a fraud alert and can be contacted as follows:

Equifax: (800) 525-6285; http://www.equifax.com, or P.O. Box 740241, Atlanta, GA 30374-0241

Experian: (888) 397-3742; http://www.experian.com, or P.O. Box 9532, Allen, TX 75013.

TransUnion: (800) 680-7289; http://www.transunion.com, or Fraud Victim Assistance Division, Box 6790 Fullerton, CA 92834-6790.

— Jim Tice