Tag Archives: identity theft solution

Do I Need Identity Theft Insurance?

Faster recovery with identity theft protection

Faster recovery with identity theft protection

You’ve probably seen advertisements for identity theft insurance. Have you wondered what it really is and if it’s something you need?

The insurance pros over at the Equifax Finance blog recently covered the topic of identity theft insurance in the article, “

Do I need Identity Theft Insurance?

Here’s the rundown: Identity theft insurance is niche insurance, for those people who are concerned about the costs involved with repairing their identity should a theft ever occur. Recovering from identity theft can be costly in time and in money. Identity theft insurance can’t actually stop a theft, of course. It just helps reimburse individuals for the costs of restoring their identity, like phone bills, lost wages, notary costs, certified mail costs, and possible even attorney’s fees. The insurance also usually provides access to services that can also help. If you are interested in purchasing identity theft insurance, be sure you know what you are buying. Get all the details on policies from several different companies, comparing price, coverage, limits and deductibles.

If you have been a victim of identity theft, call one of the three major credit reporting agencies to request a fraud alert (whichever agency you contact will alert the other two agencies, so you only need to call one). Order a copy of your

credit report so you can see what is going on.

Get more identity theft protection information at the Equifax Finance blog.

How Long Does a Late Payment Stay on Your Credit?

LAte payment hurts credit report

LAte payment hurts credit report

Ever made a late payment on a bill? Maybe forgot about your credit card bill? Or have you ever been a few weeks late on your car note when money got tight? Are you looking now at a big purchase that’s going to require credit and you’re wondering how that late payment is going to look?

The Equifax Finance blog answers these questions and more in the recent post “

FAQ: How Long Do Late Payments Stay On My Credit Report.”

The article explains that positive information (like early payments and on-time payments) can stay on your credit report forever; but negative information (like that late payment) could stick around for seven years. Bankruptcies will generally stay for 10 years.

If you are concerned about what may be in your credit report, the Equifax experts recommend checking your credit report. This will tell you what you need to know about your credit now and where you will stand in terms of getting new credit; and will be starting board for building or repairing your credit, if necessary.

Check out the Equifax Finance blog to get more answers to your credit questions, and other topics like finance,

identity theft insurance, real estate, taxes and more.

Equifax is Looking to keep your Privacy Private

Protection from identity theft

Protection from identity theft

The Personal Solutions line of consumer protection products and services from Equifax has a powerful new tool to help keep you safe: privacy monitoring. This service scours the indexed web and finds traces of your personal information, and can either simply alert you or can remove these traces that can lead to solicitations and online identity theft.

Equifax offers this new service at no additional charge to subscribers of the Equifax Complete series. The new system is in partnership with Reputation.com, a company which has proven its service to clients in more than 100 countries since 2006. The service seeks to find and protect the personal details of users, including their full name, age, gender, family members’ names, connections to relatives, and their general contact information, including email addresses and telephone numbers to increase

protection from identity theft.

To learn more about this exciting new way to keep safe and stay protected from online identity theft, visit the Equifax.com personal solutions page. You can also find frequently-updated personal finance advice resources on the Equifax Finance Blog. Finally, Equifax makes it easy to stay in the know when it comes to personal finance by having easy access on social media outlets like Facebook and Twitter to remind you about how to save money, avoid debt and have a plan for money management.

Online Shopping Sales Tax and ID Theft Protection

ID protection for online shopping

ID protection for online shopping

Two things that probably do not enter your mind when shopping online are sales tax and ID theft protection. However, the experts at the Equifax Finance Blog think they should spring to mind with every item your ‘click’ into your virtual shopping cart.

Currently, thousands of Americans have being clicking their paychecks away for this season’s latest holiday gifts. Many gifts are probably shipping from several states away as we speak. In their article, “

Online Shopping, Sales Tax, and You,” the Equifax Finance Blog experts want to remind you to look at your sales total before clicking ‘submit’ on your purchases.

If your total does not reflect a sales tax, it is a purchase that you will need to keep records of for you taxes due in the springtime. This is because many local governments are suffering from the lack of funds being collected in person at local businesses due to the overwhelming influx of online shoppers.

It may not seem like a big problem to some, but for many states who rely on the sales tax for governance funding (which is used for schools, highways, etc.), it is a real concern. If you haven’t been paying sales taxes for your online purchase, check out Governing.com and find out what you should have paid.

When tax season comes some individual tax returns may have a ‘Use Tax’ line on them. This line is where online shoppers will need to fill out their shopping payment information.

Being aware of your online shopping purchases can also become an identity theft solution for some shoppers, because comparing your purchase history plus bank statements regularly is always a smart idea!

For more information about taxes, credit reports,

ID protection and more, please check out the Equifax Finance Blog today!