Your phone number, Social Security number and PIN for your ATM card are important numbers, but no numbers are more important to know—and have the potential to save you money—than your three-digit credit scores.
A credit report—the once-secret dossier about your credit life—is the basis of your credit scores, three-digit numbers that try to predict whether you'll pay back borrowed money and pay your bills on time.
Details about credit scores are complicated and confusing. After all, scores weren't invented for consumers but for creditors. For details and more great advice, read the books, "You're Nothing but a Number" by John R. Ulzheimer, president of education for Credit.com, and "Your Credit Score" by Liz Pulliam Weston.
We talked to Ulzheimer and Weston about how to get scores and what they mean. Here's what you need to know about getting your scores:
Monday, June 30, 2008
Thursday, June 26, 2008
I have a lost laptop horror story for you.
I used to work for Boeing in Wichita. Boeing sold the Wichita division and all of the workers, including me, to another company. We still did the same work, but Boeing was just one customer of several.
Nearly a year after the sale, someone at Boeing lost a laptop that had the names, addresses and Social Security numbers of nearly all of the 12,000 Wichita ex-employees on it. They waited an unknown period of time before telling anyone, then another couple of weeks before they offered to pay for credit reporting subscriptions for us. They offered no compensation for people that had been actual identity-theft victims and they wouldn't pay for identity-theft insurance.
Almost immediately after the laptop went missing, someone used my SSN to apply for credit cards all over the country. The name they used was always close, but not exactly a match to my name/address. They used addresses of those private mail drop places.
Since I'd lived at my house for nearly 20 years at the time, all these bogus addresses made the credit card companies reject the applications, but those rejections showed up on my credit reports and lowered my rating.
The credit bureaus (I had to deal with all three of them separately) couldn't just remove those rejections; they said that the credit card companies that made the requests had to retract them. The bogus addresses also appeared on my credit report as alternate addresses for me, and I had to convince the credit agencies that I'd never lived in Minneapolis or Boca Raton or wherever.
I spent untold frustrating hours on the phone being transferred from one credit card company customer service representative to the next, listening to crappy on-hold music, often being disconnected, and having to tell my story over and over. It took several months to finally get everything cleared up, and I now have a fraud alert on my credit rating so nobody can request a report without my explicit permission.
That's really a double-edged sword. I recently tried to open a new bank account and when the bank found out that there was a fraud alert on my account, they assumed that I was a criminal. I eventually went to a different bank, one that didn't need a credit report to open a checking account. There have also been credit report requests in the last two or three years since the original laptop loss that didn't originate with anything I'd done. They were rejected, but there's someone out there that's still trying.
Like AT&T, Boeing wasn't particularly apologetic. They insisted that the information "probably hadn't been compromised," and they couldn't explain why someone was running around with the social security numbers of a bunch of people that didn't even work for Boeing.
You can read a news story about the Boeing incident here. You can read about similar incidents pretty much every day of the week, or so it seems.
Security guru Bruce Schneier had an interesting post recently that included the contention that identity theft isn't necessarily the financial drain or pain in the ass that worrywarts such as yours truly might fear. He wasn't saying it's a picnic, just not the catastrophe one might imagine ... and it's not worth paying any significant insurance premium to mitigate.
He's probably right, but as with so much surrounding the purchase of insurance, this isn't entirely a decision based on logic alone.
Here's my bottom line: Aside from the really serious worries in life -- health, kids, job security, etc. -- having to go through what Russ Jones went through is way up there on my list of fears. It would drive me absolutely bonkers to have to spend so much time -- time I don't have to spare -- undoing the damage to my financial reputation.
source : http://www.google.com/news?
Nearly a year after the sale, someone at Boeing lost a laptop that had the names, addresses and Social Security numbers of nearly all of the 12,000 Wichita ex-employees on it. They waited an unknown period of time before telling anyone, then another couple of weeks before they offered to pay for credit reporting subscriptions for us. They offered no compensation for people that had been actual identity-theft victims and they wouldn't pay for identity-theft insurance.
Almost immediately after the laptop went missing, someone used my SSN to apply for credit cards all over the country. The name they used was always close, but not exactly a match to my name/address. They used addresses of those private mail drop places.
Since I'd lived at my house for nearly 20 years at the time, all these bogus addresses made the credit card companies reject the applications, but those rejections showed up on my credit reports and lowered my rating.
The credit bureaus (I had to deal with all three of them separately) couldn't just remove those rejections; they said that the credit card companies that made the requests had to retract them. The bogus addresses also appeared on my credit report as alternate addresses for me, and I had to convince the credit agencies that I'd never lived in Minneapolis or Boca Raton or wherever.
I spent untold frustrating hours on the phone being transferred from one credit card company customer service representative to the next, listening to crappy on-hold music, often being disconnected, and having to tell my story over and over. It took several months to finally get everything cleared up, and I now have a fraud alert on my credit rating so nobody can request a report without my explicit permission.
That's really a double-edged sword. I recently tried to open a new bank account and when the bank found out that there was a fraud alert on my account, they assumed that I was a criminal. I eventually went to a different bank, one that didn't need a credit report to open a checking account. There have also been credit report requests in the last two or three years since the original laptop loss that didn't originate with anything I'd done. They were rejected, but there's someone out there that's still trying.
Like AT&T, Boeing wasn't particularly apologetic. They insisted that the information "probably hadn't been compromised," and they couldn't explain why someone was running around with the social security numbers of a bunch of people that didn't even work for Boeing.
You can read a news story about the Boeing incident here. You can read about similar incidents pretty much every day of the week, or so it seems.
Security guru Bruce Schneier had an interesting post recently that included the contention that identity theft isn't necessarily the financial drain or pain in the ass that worrywarts such as yours truly might fear. He wasn't saying it's a picnic, just not the catastrophe one might imagine ... and it's not worth paying any significant insurance premium to mitigate.
He's probably right, but as with so much surrounding the purchase of insurance, this isn't entirely a decision based on logic alone.
Here's my bottom line: Aside from the really serious worries in life -- health, kids, job security, etc. -- having to go through what Russ Jones went through is way up there on my list of fears. It would drive me absolutely bonkers to have to spend so much time -- time I don't have to spare -- undoing the damage to my financial reputation.
source : http://www.google.com/news?
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
SEC proposals may diminish credit ratings role: report
NEW YORK (Reuters) - The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission plans to propose rules that may diminish the importance of credit ratings across various markets, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday.
One proposal, to be unveiled Wednesday, would make it possible for U.S. money-market funds to invest in short-term debt without regard to ratings put on those securities by firms such as Moody's Investors Service and Standard & Poor's, the Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
Currently, SEC rules generally require that money-market funds purchase only short-term debt with high investment-grade ratings, the Journal said.
The SEC also will propose rules that may diminish the importance of credit ratings in determining the amount of capital that investment banks are required to hold, the Journal reported.
The renewed effort is part of a push in the United States and Europe amid the credit crunch that has devastated many banks and investors, the Journal said, adding that rating Moody's Corp's (MCO.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) Moody's Investors Service, McGraw-Hill Cos' (MHP.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) Standard & Poor's and Fimalac SA's (LBCP.PA: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) Fitch Ratings have been blamed by some for underestimating the risk of default on hundreds of billions of dollars of mortgage debt.
source : http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSN2430339620080624
One proposal, to be unveiled Wednesday, would make it possible for U.S. money-market funds to invest in short-term debt without regard to ratings put on those securities by firms such as Moody's Investors Service and Standard & Poor's, the Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
Currently, SEC rules generally require that money-market funds purchase only short-term debt with high investment-grade ratings, the Journal said.
The SEC also will propose rules that may diminish the importance of credit ratings in determining the amount of capital that investment banks are required to hold, the Journal reported.
The renewed effort is part of a push in the United States and Europe amid the credit crunch that has devastated many banks and investors, the Journal said, adding that rating Moody's Corp's (MCO.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) Moody's Investors Service, McGraw-Hill Cos' (MHP.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) Standard & Poor's and Fimalac SA's (LBCP.PA: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) Fitch Ratings have been blamed by some for underestimating the risk of default on hundreds of billions of dollars of mortgage debt.
source : http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSN2430339620080624
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Komputer Klinic: Protect yourself from identity theft
According to the government, 8.3 million Americans fell victim to identity theft in 2005. Estimated losses surpassed $15 billion. Fortunately, you can protect yourself from identity theft.
You've probably seen ads touting identity theft "protection" services. For a monthly fee, your credit report is locked. You receive copies of your credit reports annually. The services also promise to insure you against identity theft.
The monthly fees quickly add up. You can accomplish the same thing for less through the credit reporting agencies. And you don't need to disclose personal data to a third party.
FREE CREDIT REPORTS
Keeping an eye on your credit report is your first step to protecting yourself. Federal law grants you a free credit report each year. Each of the three major credit reporting agencies must provide one.
I recommend staggering your credit report requests. For example, request a report from Experian. Four months later, request one from Equifax. In eight months, request it from TransUnion.
Credit activity should appear on all reports. However, there may be discrepancies between reports from the three bureaus.
Request your free reports at or call (877) 322-8228. Be sure you go to the correct site. Other sites use the word "free" in their names. This business seems to thrive on confusion. For free reports mandated by Congress, you want this site, period.
FREEZING YOUR CREDIT
You can also freeze your credit report. A credit freeze prevents thieves from opening lines of credit.
New creditors can't access your credit report. So they are less likely to issue credit to a thief. That assumes that the creditor consults a reporting agency.
Companies with which you already do business may access your report. It may be accessed for fraud investigation, collection, account review and the like.
Plan carefully if you freeze your credit. You can't apply for new credit with a freeze in place. And limits cannot be increased on your accounts.
Credit freezes can be lifted, either temporarily or permanently. It may take three days or longer to lift a freeze.
A freeze can be lifted temporarily for a particular creditor. You verify your identification and provide a PIN to lift the freeze. Then, you name the creditor. You may need to provide another PIN to the creditor.
Or you can lift a freeze for a set amount of time. This ranges from one to 30 days. This is helpful if you are comparing credit card or mortgage rates.
You must freeze your credit with each of the three major agencies. In most cases, you will pay $10 to freeze your credit. This depends upon your state of residence. Some states limit freezes to seven years.
source : http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/story/119130
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Secondary market eyed in carbon underwriting and guarantees
Financial services executives are tentatively looking forward to a secondary market in the ETS sphere focused on underwriting and guarantees.
Overlooked by some in the run up to ETS is the need for insurance over carbon credit pledges. This centres on literally ensuring that the credit pledges retain their value through the lifetime of the credit arrangement.
To access this Carbon News information right now, please accept our 7 DAY FREE TRIAL subscription offer. Simply click the Subscribe button and follow the steps.
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source : http://www.carbonnews.co.nz/story.asp?storyID=1151
Sunday, June 8, 2008
Give this credit monitor strategy a look
A class-action settlement of a multibillion-dollar lawsuit against credit bureau giant TransUnion could result in credit monitoring benefits to as many as 190 million consumers.
But consumer experts caution that those benefits may, in the end, prove to be more useful to some consumers than to others. And could result in as much or more gain for TransUnion.
Even so, there is enough substance to the deal that consumers with access to the Internet should check it out when the settlement Web site, www. listclassaction.com, goes online June 16.
“TransUnion is committed to providing consumers with tools and services that empower them to manage their own credit health,” said Colleen Ryan, a TransUnion spokeswoman. “The services offered through this settlement complement our many consumer empowering initiatives.”
The settlement, which still must be approved by a federal judge, covers any consumer who from Jan. 1, 1987, to May 28, 2008, opened a credit account or a line of credit — and that covers just about everything, from credit cards to car loans to home mortgages to student loans.
As part of the settlement, TransUnion agreed to pay $75 million — which translates to less than 40 cents paid to all the consumers who may be entitled to a share.
The biggest benefit is a free credit and monitoring service that allows consumers unlimited daily access to their credit report and credit score. Consumers can sign up for a six-month plan (a $59.75 value) or a nine-month plan, which includes insurance scores (a $115.50 value).
Monitoring your credit history often is a good way to guard against identity theft and also to keep track of what your creditors are saying about you. Knowing your credit score is a plus because this three-digit numeral is the first thing lenders look at when deciding whether to lend you money and what interest rate to charge.
So, getting free monitoring is nothing to sneeze at. Still, the benefits are in the eye of the beholder.
First of all, these credit monitoring services you see advertised on the Internet and on TV are overhyped.
They really hold merit only for consumers who are in the market for a mortgage or other big loan, who have reason to fear they may be a victim of identity theft or who don’t want to bother monitoring their credit themselves.
Fact is, there are a number of free ways already to monitor your credit from time to time.
First, you have a right to one free credit report each year from each of the big three credit bureaus: TransUnion, Equifax and Experian. In addition, if you lose your wallet or your credit card, you can have a fraud alert posted on your account at each bureau every 90 days.
As a result, you can conceivably have 15 different ways to keep tabs on your credit over the course of a year — for free.
“We don’t think monitoring services are all that great for most consumers,” said Paul Stephens, director of policy and advocacy at the Privacy Rights Clearing House. “There are other ways to monitor your credit without paying. Besides, the monitoring offered here only pertains to TransUnion.”
Even so, Ryan said the deal TransUnion is offering consumers not only is free, but also offers consumers a chance to look at their credit report whenever they want, any time of day. Consumers would be alerted by e-mail of any significant changes in their files, whether it is an account opened in their name or a late payment.
In addition, she said, the service provides a good “hands-on” introduction to many consumers who may not have experience with monitoring their credit report or credit score.
source : http://www.google.com/news?
But consumer experts caution that those benefits may, in the end, prove to be more useful to some consumers than to others. And could result in as much or more gain for TransUnion.
Even so, there is enough substance to the deal that consumers with access to the Internet should check it out when the settlement Web site, www. listclassaction.com, goes online June 16.
“TransUnion is committed to providing consumers with tools and services that empower them to manage their own credit health,” said Colleen Ryan, a TransUnion spokeswoman. “The services offered through this settlement complement our many consumer empowering initiatives.”
The settlement, which still must be approved by a federal judge, covers any consumer who from Jan. 1, 1987, to May 28, 2008, opened a credit account or a line of credit — and that covers just about everything, from credit cards to car loans to home mortgages to student loans.
As part of the settlement, TransUnion agreed to pay $75 million — which translates to less than 40 cents paid to all the consumers who may be entitled to a share.
The biggest benefit is a free credit and monitoring service that allows consumers unlimited daily access to their credit report and credit score. Consumers can sign up for a six-month plan (a $59.75 value) or a nine-month plan, which includes insurance scores (a $115.50 value).
Monitoring your credit history often is a good way to guard against identity theft and also to keep track of what your creditors are saying about you. Knowing your credit score is a plus because this three-digit numeral is the first thing lenders look at when deciding whether to lend you money and what interest rate to charge.
So, getting free monitoring is nothing to sneeze at. Still, the benefits are in the eye of the beholder.
First of all, these credit monitoring services you see advertised on the Internet and on TV are overhyped.
They really hold merit only for consumers who are in the market for a mortgage or other big loan, who have reason to fear they may be a victim of identity theft or who don’t want to bother monitoring their credit themselves.
Fact is, there are a number of free ways already to monitor your credit from time to time.
First, you have a right to one free credit report each year from each of the big three credit bureaus: TransUnion, Equifax and Experian. In addition, if you lose your wallet or your credit card, you can have a fraud alert posted on your account at each bureau every 90 days.
As a result, you can conceivably have 15 different ways to keep tabs on your credit over the course of a year — for free.
“We don’t think monitoring services are all that great for most consumers,” said Paul Stephens, director of policy and advocacy at the Privacy Rights Clearing House. “There are other ways to monitor your credit without paying. Besides, the monitoring offered here only pertains to TransUnion.”
Even so, Ryan said the deal TransUnion is offering consumers not only is free, but also offers consumers a chance to look at their credit report whenever they want, any time of day. Consumers would be alerted by e-mail of any significant changes in their files, whether it is an account opened in their name or a late payment.
In addition, she said, the service provides a good “hands-on” introduction to many consumers who may not have experience with monitoring their credit report or credit score.
source : http://www.google.com/news?
Monday, June 2, 2008
Here's way to get free credit reports throughout year
Question: I know I am entitled to one free credit report annually, from each of the three credit reporting companies, but I want to receive one every four months throughout the year (one from each reporting company at a time). I wrote to one of them last year and specifically stated I wanted only a report from that company at that time: I received one from each of the three, all within a week of each other! So, I was then unable to check my credit throughout the rest of the year (unless, I guess, if I had paid for such reports).
How can I receive only one credit report at a time? I am a senior citizen, on a fixed income and truly cannot afford to pay to receive reports -- the fact that we are supposed to get one from each company annually is a big plus for folks like me, but the reports don't do much good if they all come at the same time -- I want to be able to keep an eye on my credit status throughout the year.
Answer: You can receive one free credit report per year from each of the three primary credit reporting agencies.
What I do is go to annualcreditreport.com and get one credit report for each of my family members. I do this once every four months (April 15, August 15, December 15) from a different credit reporting agency. When you go to the Web site you can select which agency you would like to receive a report from, and then choose a different one the next time.
By the end of the year you will have received a credit report from each company for free.
news source : http://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/orl-qna0108jun01,0,325254.story
How can I receive only one credit report at a time? I am a senior citizen, on a fixed income and truly cannot afford to pay to receive reports -- the fact that we are supposed to get one from each company annually is a big plus for folks like me, but the reports don't do much good if they all come at the same time -- I want to be able to keep an eye on my credit status throughout the year.
Answer: You can receive one free credit report per year from each of the three primary credit reporting agencies.
What I do is go to annualcreditreport.com and get one credit report for each of my family members. I do this once every four months (April 15, August 15, December 15) from a different credit reporting agency. When you go to the Web site you can select which agency you would like to receive a report from, and then choose a different one the next time.
By the end of the year you will have received a credit report from each company for free.
news source : http://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/orl-qna0108jun01,0,325254.story
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