Be careful with your credit – Military Identity Theft

While those of us who serve in the American military may be used to some extra risks in life; it is the unexpected ones that can really surprise us. One such risk is the larger chance for identity theft.

Douglas Aaron, a credit repair lawyer states that, Military are often focused on by criminals for credit identity theft because they are usually out of the country for long periods of time. Thieves who go to the trouble of stealing other individuals information don’t like to be quickly shut down. People who go on a tour-of-duty for a year or more allow such an opportunity.

Once a criminal has obtained your particulars, including your social security number, name and birthday, they will start opening new lines of credit, taking personal loans and buying cellular service.

More sophisticated identity theft will add some form of picture ID for larger bank loans, car loans or camper loans.

Anyway, returning home to a huge amount of bills or trying to make purchase with your credit only to realize it has been ruined by thieves is something no one should have to deal with. To add insult to injury, fixing the situation often requires months to a year or more to iron out all the problems created by this type of theft.

Cory Baker, a North Carolina resident said: “I served my country for two years, out of the country. This was not the type of homecoming I hoped for. Proving to the courts that I did not make $7,000 in phone bills to Greece takes a lot of time and is utterly distracting.”

Many of these types of problems could have been prevented or stopped a lot sooner with a little more attention to ones finances, especially monitoring ones credit report.

Knowing what is on our report, cleaning up and fixing mistakes, constantly trying to increase your credit score, is something we can all benefit from doing, says Douglas Aaron. If you don’t know your score, how will you know if its gone down?

At the very least, order your scores today. Today’s economic problems demand our attention; they demand we are prepared for emergencies.

With a bankruptcy mark on your report your score will be lowered considerably. However there is hope, you can remove this mark and by building some positive credit you can create a good score.

Contrary to popular belief this mark can be removed from your report and without waiting 10 years. To remove this mark we suggest:

1. Dispute the listing with the bureaus directly.

This is done by sending a dispute letter to the bureau; you can do this yourself or hire a service to do it on your behalf. The bureau will then conduct an investigation into the listing. However bureaus do not check public records when they investigate a dispute, thus the listing will not be verified.

Congress passed the Fair Credit Reporting Act and this says that the bureaus must remove any item on your report that can not be verified. People frequently ask if credit repair is legal. It is not only legal but this act explicitly says any mark you do not feel is accurate can be disputed. There will never be any legal ramifications for filing a dispute with the bureaus.

We suggest before you dispute the bankruptcy you double check to make sure any negative accounts are reported as “included in bankruptcy.” This is because once the bankruptcy is removed from your report you will dispute each listing on the basis that it says “included in bankruptcy” yet there is no bankruptcy on your report. Additionally it is rumored that removing a bankruptcy is easier after 2 years have expired.

2. Dispute each negative item.

This can be done because no where on your credit report does it say you have filed a bankruptcy so how can these negative items be included? Upon an investigation the marks should be erased and this will provide you with a clean report.

3. Open a new revolving line of credit such as a credit card. This will help you build some positive credit on your report.

By making your on time monthly payments you will create a positive payment history. Additionally keep your monthly balance at 25% of your available limit because this will show the bureaus that you do use your card and use it responsibly. This will improve your ratio of available credit to debt, a very important factor when your score is calculated.

It might not be the most ethical to dispute items you know are accurate on your report. However is it ethical for lender to charge you 30% interest rate for missing a payment, no matter how long you have been a model customer?

In sum you can remove a bankruptcy and all the negative marks on your credit report. If you build some positive credit and remove the negative credit you can achieve a very high score. This will improve your quality of life by; lower interest rates, more purchasing power, and extra money.

You do not have to just wait for negative marks on your credit report to fall off. You can remove them and improve your credit score.

The Fair Credit Reporting Act says that you can dispute any item that you do not believe to be accurate on your credit report. It also says that any item that can not be verified must be removed from your credit.

To dispute an item you must create a dispute letter and send it to each credit bureau. You can hire a service to create this letter or do it yourself.

The bureau will receive your dispute and investigate. They will contact the lender and ask them to verify the dates on the account and the balance.

If the creator is unable to verify the account then it must be deleted from your report. The easiest items to remove have been learned to be a charge off, repossession and a late payment after they have aged for two years.

This is because the creditor has gotten some form of payment for your debt. For example with a charged off credit card the creditor has sold your debt to a debt collector. Therefore the creditor has no reason to save records of your account.

With judgments, bankruptcies, tax liens and recent delinquent accounts it is more difficult to remove these items from your credit. If you have one of these we suggest a service because they have more tactics they can use to remove an item.

A service can use more advanced methods to remove an item if it is verified by the lender. A service can use; creditor direct intervention, escalated dispute information requests, and debt validation.

You can also help your credit score by opening a revolving unsecured credit line. This will help your score because you can create a positive payment history and improve your ratio of debt to available credit.

In sum you do not have to wait seven years to repair your credit. You can have a good credit score by removing derogatory items and building a positive payment history.

The Wired Plastic Visa card is a prepaid credit card. You deposit money onto your card and then use your card to make purchases or withdraw cash at ATM’s.

It is accepted over the phone and online. You card can be used anywhere you see the visa logo displayed.

Your card can be used to rent a car or make a hotel reservation. You also can sign up for free e-mail and text messaging account alerts.

It has a very unique benefit; they offer card holders a rewards program. You can earn 1 point for every dollar you spend with your card.

You can redeem these points at participating retailers, this includes; Cingular, T-Mobile, Verizon and more. Your points can be redeemed for; ring tones, music downloads, and toward your account balance.

This card is issued through Bankfirst and gives you free direct deposit. There is a $3.95 monthly fee but that is much lower to the standard monthly fee ranging from $9.95 to $19.95 a month for other cards.

Your card can also be used to write physical paper checks to pay your bills. This will eliminate your need to purchase money orders. You can also deposit money on your card through 100,000 retail locations and use pay pal or a bank account transfer.

They offer guaranteed approval for this card regardless of your credit history. This card also gives you a 30 day money back guarantee. If you are not satisfied for any reason you can receive a full refund.

Your card will act just like a checking account. If you are in chexsystems it will eliminate the need to purchase money orders or pay check cashing fees.

To qualify you must be a US resident. You must identify yourself in compliance with the Patriot Act and be at least 18 years of age.

In sum we do suggest the Wired Plastic card. It works just like a bank account.

The baby phat rush card is a prepaid credit card. It was created by Russell Simmons he co founded the popular Def Jam record label.

This is how the rush card works; you deposit money into your card/account, then you use your card to make purchases, money is taken out of your account to pay for those purchases. This card does offer guaranteed approval.

There is no chex systems check or a credit check. The rush card comes as a black card and the baby phat rush card is a pink card.

With this card you have free direct deposit. To enroll in this you only have to fill out a form and turn that into your employer or payroll department.

Then your paychecks will be directly deposited into your rush card account. You will still receive pay stubs to inform you of hours worked and what your deposit is.

This card can be used at ATM’s over 800,000 locations throughout the world. In addition you get free online account access.

You can make purchases using your rush card online and over the phone. You can also use your account and write physical paper checks.

To use this feature you visit the website and input the person or business that you want to write a check to. This includes name, amount of payment and address.

Then press send a real physical check will be sent to the business or person. This can save you money by not having to buy money orders again.

With bill pay you can save money on buying money orders. If you use direct deposit you will no longer have to pay check cashing fees.

However, we do not recommend the rush credit card. This is because they have many fees that other cards do not have.

An example is the convenience fee. This is a fee you are charged every time you use your card.

You will be charged $1.00 with a maximum charge of $10.00 a month. However during a month you will be charged $1.00 for every transaction you make using your card.

Then at the end of the month all the extra charges above 10.00 will be credited back to your account at the end of the next calendar month.

That can end up being a full 2 months before you are refunded. This is unbelievable especially because many of us use are card more than ten times in a month.

It’s hard to believe that someone can be charged these fees. In addition having to wait so long to get your refund.

Also to use bill payment you must enroll which is $2.00 then every check you write is another $1.00. There are other prepaid credit cards that offer free bill pay and no fees.

The rush card claims there are no hidden fees however that seems to be a very contradictory statement. Especially when you are forced to read the fine print to discover that you will be charged one dollar for every purchase you make.

In sum, stay away from the rush card. There are many other prepaid credit cards available that have lower fees and better benefits.

The Continental Finance MasterCard is a sub prime unsecured credit card. This means it is a card that was created for individuals with a bad credit rating.

Your card will be issued with an initial credit limit of $300. However you will be able to received semi-annual credit limit increases, with a maximum limit of $2000.

You account will be reported monthly to all three credit bureaus. This will give you an opportunity to rebuild your credit score.

This card can help your score because it will improve your ratio of credit to debt. In addition by paying your monthly bill you will create a positive payment history.

These two factors have a tremendous impact on your credit score. It is still important to remove bad credit items from your credit reports.

This card is unsecured which means that you do not have to put a deposit down. However you will have to pay an annual fee. This is typical with sub prime cards.

The benefit of this card is the very low 9.75% APR. The industry standard on sub prime cards is just under 20%. Your card can be used at millions of locations across the globe.

They do offer easy approval and there are no minimum income requirements. You can still be approved for this card even with a recent bankruptcy on your credit history. They offer an online application decision within seconds of submitting an application.

The card is issued by The First Bank of Delaware. This bank has been a leader in sub prime lending for years.

With this card you will have free online account access. You will be responsible to pay your monthly bill and keep your balance below your limit.

The alternative is a secured credit card. However with this card it will take you longer to rebuild your score because this card is reported to the bureaus as a secured line of credit.

You also can qualify for a shopping card. We do not suggest these cards because they often come with large fees and only report to one credit bureau.

In sum we do suggest the Continental Finance Card to anyone looking for a second chance with credit. You can use this card to re-establish your credit score and build positive credit because it will improve your ratio of debit to available credit and can create a positive payment history.

With a bankruptcy mark on your report your score will be lowered considerably. However there is hope, you can remove this mark and by building some positive credit you can create a good score.

The truth is that this mark does not have to remain on your credit for 10 years. To remove it we suggest:

1. Dispute the listing with the bureaus directly.

This is done by sending a dispute letter to the bureau; you can do this yourself or hire a service to do it on your behalf. The bureau will then conduct an investigation into the listing. However bureaus do not check public records when they investigate a dispute, thus the listing will not be verified.

The Fair Credit Reporting Act says that any mark that can not be verified by the bureau must be removed from your report. Additionally this mark says that you the consumer can dispute any item on your report that you do not feel is accurate. Often people are concerned with the legality of credit repair, and you should know you will never be fined, prosecuted, arrested, or face any legal action for disputing an item.

It is rumored that after 2 years it is easier to remove this mark, however it is not required. Additionally we suggest you make sure that any negative item on your report reads “included in bankruptcy.” The reason for this is you will later dispute the validity of these items because your report does not show a bankruptcy.

2. Once you have removed the initial mark, you can start disputing each negative item.

You will be able to challenge the mark on the basis that your report does not show a bankruptcy. Therefore each item should be deleted by the bureaus upon investigation.

3. We suggest you start building positive credit. This is most effective by opening a new revolving line of credit such as a credit card.

With on time payments you will build a positive payment history, this is heavily weighted when your score is calculated. It will also help if you keep your balance under 30% of your limit because this will help your utilization ratio. This means you will have better ratio of available credit to debt.

It might not be the most ethical to dispute items you know are accurate on your report. However is it ethical for lender to charge you 30% interest rate for missing a payment, no matter how long you have been a model customer?

In sum you can remove a bankruptcy and all the negative marks on your credit report. If you build some positive credit and remove the negative credit you can achieve a very high score. This will improve your quality of life by; lower interest rates, more purchasing power, and extra money.

You can use a credit card to help rebuild your credit score. This card will help you build a positive payment history and will improve your ratio of available credit to debt; both these factors are heavily weighed in your credit score.

However you will only qualify for a sub prime credit card if you have a damaged credit score. This means your card will have an interest rate around 19%.

You should still make efforts to remove derogatory items off your credit report. However it is rumored that once a derogatory item ages four years it will not impact your score as dramatically.

If your credit score is low you will still be able to qualify for a sub prime credit card. This means you will pay approximately 19% APR and an annual fee.

You credit limit will be approximately $300. The other option is to get a secured credit card, however your credit score will not receive the same benefit.

A secured card you will have to put a deposit down and the amount of your deposit is the credit line on your card. This card will report to the credit bureaus however it will not give you the same benefit as an unsecured card.

Both these types of cards offer instant approval. Before you apply for any card double check and make sure that they report to all three credit bureaus.

A helpful tip to get the most positive credit built from your card is to keep your balance at 10% of your available credit. If your card has a credit limit of $300 it will help if you can keep your balance at around $30.

This shows the credit bureaus that you do have available credit; this is called your available credit to debt ratio. In addition it shows the bureaus that you do use your credit.

The other alternative for a credit card is a shopping card. This card is only accepted through a designated catalog or through a website. These cards often only report to one credit bureau and have large fees.

You also can apply for a prepaid credit card however these cards typically do not report to a credit agency. However they do work like a bank account and if you are in chexsystems this is a good choice.

In sum we suggest you open a sub prime credit card for your credit score to get the most benefit. This card will help improve your score by creating a positive payment history and improving your ratio of debt to available credit.

To dispute a bad credit item on your TransUnion credit report you must use the dispute process. This is done by hiring a service or creating a dispute letter.

Be aware that if you dispute an item with TransUnion you should also dispute that item with Experian and Equifax. You must dispute the same listing with each credit bureau on its own.

In your letter you need to include what item you are disputing and the reason for the dispute. Reasons include; item out of date, information is wrong, account paid, and more.

When TransUnion gets your dispute they will conduct an investigation. During which the lender is contacted and asked to verify the dates, the account, and the balance.

If the lender is unable to verify the account then the item must be erased from your credit report. Often an investigation will result in the removal of a bad credit item.

Should your item be verified a service with lawyers on their staff can use advanced dispute techniques to remove negative items. These techniques include; debt validation, escalated dispute information requests, and creditor direct intervention.

Often people are concerned with the legality of credit repair. This is 100% legal, the Fair Credit Reporting Act which was passed by Congress made it your right to dispute any item on your credit report that you feel is inaccurate.

It is a good decision to save all your communication with TransUnion. The credit bureaus have begun to allow people to dispute items on their credit report online, however we do not suggest you do this. We have found that disputing your report online is ineffective.

Be aware that the 100 word statement that you can place on your credit report is never a good thing to fill out. In the past this is where consumers could provide a brief explanation as to why an account became delinquent.

Today it is very rarely looked at by lenders and is more often used by the bureaus. The bureaus see this as an admission of guilt and will ignore any letters you send to dispute and remove this item; your letters will be deemed frivolous.

In sum you can remove bad credit items from TransUnion. This is done by disputing the item.

This card is a sub prime unsecured card. This means the Continental Finance Card is designed specifically for individuals looking for a second chance with credit.

Your card will be issued with an initial credit limit of $300. However you will be able to received semi-annual credit limit increases, with a maximum limit of $2000.

This card does report monthly to all three credit bureaus. It is frequently used as a second chance credit card.

This will help your score because it will improve your ratio of debt to available credit. In addition you can create a positive payment history by paying your monthly bill.

If you can improve these two factors you will improve your score. This is because these two factors are weighted almost as much as derogatory items on your credit report.

This card is unsecured which means there is no initial deposit, however because of your low credit score they will charge you an annual fee. Unfortunately this is an unavoidable cost and you will have a fee with any credit card you open with a damaged credit score.

It does offer 9.75% APR, which is well below the standard 19% APR that most sub prime credit cards offer. It is accepted at millions of locations worldwide.

There is an easy approval process, and can be used by people with a bankruptcy on their credit history. You will get the results of your application with seconds of completing it online.

This card is issued by the First Bank of Delaware. This bank has been a leader in sub prime lending for years.

With this card you will have free online account access. You will be responsible to pay your monthly bill and keep your balance below your limit.

The alternative is a secured credit card. However with this card it will take you longer to rebuild your score because this card is reported to the bureaus as a secured line of credit.

Or you can get a shopping card. We do not suggest these cards because they come with monthly fees, a large deposit and often only report to one bureau.

In sum we do suggest the Continental Finance MasterCard to anyone looking to re-establish their credit rating. This card will help by improving your ratio of debt to available credit and can build you a positive payment history.