New York Consumer Law Blog

How can I protect myself from identity theft?

Identity theft is a growing problem that is costing American consumers billions of dollars every year according to the Justice Department’s Bureau of Justice Statistics. In fact, it has been reported that the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) reported over 490,000 identity fraud complaints in the last year alone.  While nearly half of these complaints were related to tax return fraud, credit card fraud, particularly the creation of bogus accounts, is also a major threat to consumers.

What is identity theft?

This crime typically occurs when someone steals an individual's personal information such as social security numbers, bank account numbers, credit card numbers and tax information.  This information is then used to fraudulently obtain credit or file taxes.

Most people know that maintaining their credit score in good standing is crucial to their financial health.  After all,  their credit score can have a significant impact on many aspects of their life. Credit scores can affect a person’s ability to buy a home, car, insurance, and may even affect their ability to obtain employment. However, what most people do not know is that credit reporting agencies (CRAs) and credit furnishers often make a multitude of mistakes when recording a credit score and credit report. These mistakes often remain uncorrected despite the CRAs being informed of the error.