According to 2007 FTC information, 36% of complaints filed with the FTC by Marylanders were related to Identity Theft.  In 2008, the Consumer Sentinel Network complaint figures for Maryland identified credit card fraud as the number one complaint (25%) and Bank Fraud ranked number two (14%). 

Because you are a loyal Scam Alert viewer and you are now “consumer savvy”, I am confident you would know what to do if this happened to you!  Using www.annualcreditreport.com, every four months you order a FREE credit report from one of the three Credit Bureaus (Experian, TransUnion and Equifax).  You know you are entitled to one free report from each Bureau per year – so by staggering them, you are actually monitoring your own Credit Report throughout the year. 

Checking your report, you look for any new accounts that have been opened without your knowledge and any inquiries from creditors (someone may be trying to open a line of credit). This unauthorized activity can signal Identity Theft.  So let’s walk through what to do if (a) you receive notice of a security breach and/or (b) by receiving bills you don’t owe but in your name or reviewing your credit report, you suspect someone’s conducting transactions using your identity and hey, it’s not YOU! 

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