Credit/ID Monitoring

[kwando]

Great info, I guess I'll be calling to lock my credit. I don't see myself opening any cards, as credit cards are evil!

[Batteriesnare]

Called and locked mine as well, good info thanks!

[68Charger]

OK, I've been sent the email from Anthem, my info may have been compromised

first- I have now received an update thru my employer, other scumbags are trying to use fear over this event to "phish"... so NEVER click on a link in an email supposedly from Anthem.. and don't give info on phone calls either, they are ONLY sending letters via USPS.

now that that's out of the way, my personal AMEX had an unauthorized charge last week (already dealt with), so I was already jumpy... then this news comes out. I don't think they're related... I pulled my credit reports, put a 90 day fraud alert on them and notified my ID Shield provider (they only help if my Identity is stolen, so they were not any help, just confirmed I was already doing the right thing.)

It should be noted that there are several levels of protection from the credit agencies... just calling it a "lock" is not very descriptive.
note: there are 3 Credit reporting agencies... Equifax, Transunion, and Experian.

1) 90 day "fraud alert"... this costs you nothing, and will request that creditors notify you if someone is applying for credit on your identity (hard inquiry type, more on that later)... the creditor actually CAN ignore this request- but that should be rare. A Fraud alert put on any of the 3 Credit agencies SHOULD notify the other 2.
2) Active duty "fraud alert"... if you are active duty military, you can get a fraud alert put on indefinately (at least at Equifax, and that should carry to the other 2)
It should be noted that a "fraud alert" can be ignored, or cancelled by a really good ID thief... but they will work in many cases.

3) a full credit lock. This must be done in writing, and should also be accompanied with a request for additional security features (such as an additional PIN or other means to unlock) with this in place, you will be UNABLE to apply for any credit, all will be denied... if you ever have any unauthorized accounts opened in your identity, this is what you should do, with the most secure method you can request from the credit agencies.. (a PIN is not very secure- but if it's you're only choice, make it unique and difficult)

Besides working with the credit agencies on a free level (all the above options should be no cost, with possible exception of #3).. there are services that will help...
I don't use Lifelock, so I can't help you there- I use LegalShield with Identity theft protection... the Identity theft protection is $9.95/mo, and their Legal services have been of help at times (other times it sucks)

I also signed up at creditkarma . com to see what was on my credit report.. they don't appear to work with Experian, so I got my credit report directly from them to compare.
As a side effect, I actually learned that some things my wife had done harmed our credit score (closing old accounts we weren't using, asking for credit limits to be reduced, etc.)

Regardless of whether your info has been compromised, contact all your credit card companies to ask about fraud protection services... most CC accounts offer 0% liability as long as you notify them "in a timely manner" about the fraud. AMEX was awesome last week, since I had text messaging setup for ANY purchases without the card present. I was notified about a $375 charge to Sportsman's Guide for exercise equipment.. (less than 1 minute)... contacted AMEX, then Sportsman's guide... purchase cancelled, police notified (not that I think that's going to do shit), card cancelled and replacement in the mail NBD.
What amused me was that Sportsman's was unwilling to tell me the name & address of the order (for fear I would go retaliate, or "privacy concerns")... but I managed to get the order# out of them to "ensure I had some way to refer to this issue"... right after the call I was able to open the order#, and see the name & address it was ordered to.. (house is for sale, so probably a drop site)
For those wondering, I did NOT have a Sportsman's guide acct, they verified that account had been created hours before the charge... using my billing address with a different shipping address.

I'm also going to lock down all social media accounts as tight as I can (a source to get other info like photos, etc) FB is the only one used by my family.

I hope this info helps someone... the right way to deal with this kind of problem is swift counter - moves that will either reveal them or stop them in their tracks.. make your ID harder to work, and they'll go after the 1000s that are easier.

[CO Hugh]

Neighbor has life lock, it seems pretty good. He receives a call whenever his wife opens an account, or if out of town any large purchases. I think there is a referral for them through the NRA.

[GilpinGuy]

I'm with Anthem as well. This morning I did the fraud alert. It's free and it lasts 90 days. You can submit it again after 60 days.

I'm also doing the full credit lock or security lock for both me and my wife. This is free and it lasts forever but it cost $10 in Colorado to get it unlocked. Well worth the cost IMO. Different States have different fees.

This was all done online and very easy - no hard copies needed to be sent in.

Here are the links to the Credit/Security Freeze pages:
Equifax

TransUnion

Experian

[Ranger353]

Scam Email Going Around in Wake of Anthem Security Breach

http://www.kktv.com/home/headlines/S...291653181.html

Scammers are now trying to take advantage of the data breach involving Anthem. They are sending out fake emails to try to get your personal information.
The email look real and includes logos for Anthem. It might also include a link to sign up for credit monitoring.
You'll remember that Anthem announced that hackers stole information for 80 million of its customers, including names and social security numbers.
A spokesperson for the Better Business Bureau says it's no surprise that scammers are following the news headlines.
"Scammers are watching the news constantly and as soon as there's something that will tug at someone's heart strings, they jump on that and use that to their advantage," said Crystal Johnston, the Director of Marketing for the Better Business Bureau of Southern Colorado.
The most important thing to keep in mind is that Anthem will be contacting customers through the regular mail.
While customers wait to hear from the insurance company about whether or not they are impacted by the breach, the BBB also has some advice of what people should do in the meantime.
"They need to act now, contacting their credit monitoring agencies, contacting their banks, their credit cards, putting flags on their accounts stating that passwords need to be enacted and no one is allowed to touch the account except for this individual," said Johnston.
You might remember when we first learned about the breach, we reported that the City of Colorado Springs uses Anthem to access their list of doctors. A spokesperson for the city tells 11 News they have been in contact with Anthem on a daily basis since then, and right now there is no evidence that employee information was compromised.