The Better Business Bureau is joining with Idaho Attorney General Lawrence Wasden and other government and private organizations in promoting consumer education. March 6 - 12 is National Consumer Protection Week. The annual campaign encourages everyone to know and understand their rights and responsibilities as consumers, in order to make better-informed decisions.
BBB's Dale Dixon says one way to protect your identity is by regularly checking your credit report.
"There is one, bona fide, safe place to check your credit report for free. It’s www.annualcreditreport.com. Make sure you are on a secured WiFi connection, because you will need to type in personal information like your Social Security number," Dixon said.
"Each credit reporting bureau must give you a free look at your report once a year. There are three of these companies, and you can view each company’s report at different times. Check one today, and then a different one in four months, and so on," Dixon recommended.
And if you see anything on the report that isn’t yours, you may be the victim of identity theft. Dixon says to flag your credit reports and call one of the credit reporting companies to ask for a fraud alert.
"You’ll also want to create an identity theft report. It can help you get the fraudulent information removed from your credit report, stop a company from collecting debts caused by identity theft, and get information about accounts a thief opened in your name. You’ll find the FTC and local police are good resources if you’re the victim of identity theft," Dixon said.
For more information visit, www.bbb.org.
