Fraud Alerting, Credit Report and FTC guidance

Fraud Alert - Learn How to Put a Flag on Your Credit File

Putting a fraud alert on you credit file is one of the first things you should do if you suspect someone is trying to open credit accounts in your name. It might be something you want to do, even if you don't think identity theft is an immediate threat.

What is a Fraud Alert?
A fraud alert is something that the major credit bureaus attach to your credit report. When you, or someone else, tries to open up a credit account by getting a new credit card, car loan, cell phone, etc., the lender should contact you by phone to verify that you really want to open a new account. If you aren't reachable by phone, the credit account shouldn't be opened.

A creditor isn't required by law to contact you, however, even if you have fraud alert in place.

How Do I Set Up a Fraud Alert?
It's pretty easy. Just contact each of the fraud department of the credit bureaus, you can get their contact information here; http://www.fightidentitytheft.com/fraud_numbers.html, and ask them to flag your credit file for fraud. You'll probably talk to an automated voice response system and it should only take a few minutes. You should consider using your cell phone as a contact number.

Fraud alerts are not a cure-all, however. A fraud alert can be, and sometimes is ignored by creditors. If you suspect you're a victim of identity theft, or have already become a victim, fraud alerts are only a start in trying to protect your credit. You also need to pay close attention to your credit report to make sure no new credit inquiries or credit accounts are being opened and have the information relating to fraudulent transactions deleted.

How Do I Obtain a Copy of my Credit Report For Free?

The following Federal Trade Commission web site gives guidance on credit reporting including how to obtain a free copy of your credit report.

http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/credit/cre34.shtm

Your Access to Free Credit Reports

The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) requires each of the nationwide consumer reporting companies – Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion – to provide you with a free copy of your credit report, at your request, once every 12 months. The FCRA promotes the accuracy and privacy of information in the files of the nation’s consumer reporting companies. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the nation’s consumer protection agency, enforces the FCRA with respect to consumer reporting companies.

A credit report includes information on where you live, how you pay your bills, and whether you’ve been sued, arrested, or filed for bankruptcy. Nationwide consumer reporting companies sell the information in your report to creditors, insurers, employers, and other businesses that use it to evaluate your applications for credit, insurance, employment, or renting a home.

How do I order my free report?

The three nationwide consumer reporting companies have set up a central website, a toll-free telephone number, and a mailing address through which you can order your free annual report.

To order, visit annualcreditreport.com, call 1-877-322-8228, or complete the Annual Credit Report Request Form and mail it to: Annual Credit Report Request Service, P.O. Box 105281, Atlanta, GA 30348-5281. The form is on the back of this brochure; or you can print it from http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/resources/forms/affidavit.pdf . Do not contact the three nationwide consumer reporting companies individually. They are providing free annual credit reports only through annualcreditreport.com, 1-877-322-8228, and Annual Credit Report Request Service, P.O. Box 105281, Atlanta, GA 30348-5281.

You may order your reports from each of the three nationwide consumer reporting companies at the same time, or you can order your report from each of the companies one at a time. The law allows you to order one free copy of your report from each of the nationwide consumer reporting companies every 12 months.

Security Alerts

Text Messages

Because mobile devices can sometimes become misplaced, lost, or stolen, you should not disclose the relationship between you and the people in your contact list located on your mobile device. Avoid using names like Home, Honey, Hubby, Sweetheart, Dad, Mom, etc.... and very importantly, when sensitive info is being requested through text messages, CONFIRM who sent the text by calling them back. Also, when you're being text by friends or family to meet them somewhere, be sure to call back to confirm that the message came from them. If you don't reach them, be very careful about going places to meet "family and friends".

Protect yourself from phishing.

Phishing occurs when you receive a very real-looking email that seems to come from a company you know and trust, but actually didn’t. Unfortunately, you can receive phony emails appearing to be from all kinds of services, such as your Internet Service Provider (ISP), retailers, online banking sites and others. They’ll often use legitimate “From” email addresses, logos and links. A message might instruct you to click on a link that sends you to a fake Web site, that looks like a real legitimate site, where they’ll want you to update your personal or account information. The email may even suggest that your account or credit card will be terminated. Remember, they are trying to get you to take immediate action without thinking about the consequences. Don’t Be Fooled!

What kind of information are they looking for? Your Social Security Number (SSN), bank and credit card account numbers and date of birth for starters. With that kind of information, they can steal your identity and open new accounts that you might not find out about until fraudulent charges start showing up on your credit report.

How do you protect yourself from phishing?

Here are some tips that can help you avoid becoming a victim of phishing:

If an email looks at all suspicious to you, don’t click on links or provide any information and do not reply to it.
Don’t trust a link from an email just because it takes you to a site that looks legitimate. Scammers can copy those easily.
Verify with the company that the email is really from them before submitting any personal information. Call their published customer care service center or technical support number rather than a phone number used in the suspicious email.
Do not fill out forms in email messages. You can never be sure where the information is going or who sees it along the way.
Emails can be forged. Be suspicious until you know for sure.
If you click on a link from an unsolicited email asking for personal information, make sure there’s an “s” after the http in the address and a lock closed padlock at the bottom-right corner of the browser window for a padlock, signifying a secure site that is encrypted. This is no guarantee, however, that the site is legitimate.
If you are unsure, forward the email to onlinebanking.support@riversidenb.com

Please Note: This phish alert email address is only to be used to provide copies of suspected phishing email to the bank for review. These emails are not intended for issues that need a response or customer service answers. Riverside will not be responding to emails sent to the phish alert address.

Unsolicited Emails

If you receive any unsolicited email from Riverside, or from any other source, requesting personal information or asking you to verify your accounts or security settings, we suggest that you check first with us or the other entities to make sure these requests are legitimate before responding. Help us protect you—don’t take the bait from any “phishing” schemes. If you think that you may be a victim of phishing or identity theft fraud, contact us immediately at 1.800.741.3283.

Beware of password reset information

Many of today’s web sites use challenge questions for verification or authentication for password resetting. A lot of these questions use standard language such as “What was your maiden name”, “What is your dog's name”. “City you were born”, etc.

If you put this type of information on social web sites such as MySpace or FaceBook, this data can be compromised by a process referred to as scraping, that can collect this information for criminal purposes.

It is a good idea not to publish identifying information on these social web sites and if you have not already done so, scrub any identifying information from these sites.

Call us at 1.800.741.3283