Are you afraid to use your credit card online? Most credit card companies limit your liability for unauthorized or fraudulent charges to $50. You do not have this security with a debit card. Keep reading to discover a way to limit your liability for online credit card use to $0!

Databases that store your credit card number are frequently hacked. Just because you do not use your credit card to make online purchases, does not mean that your credit card number is not stored in a database that can be hacked.

I had an online purchase show up on my credit card once. However, in that case I think that the purchaser had incorrectly entered the credit card number, and just happened to have the same expiration date. So that is one reason that the three digit CW2/CID number on the back of the card helps identify the correct number was entered. To fix the problem, I just called the credit card company and explained that I had never shopped online with that retailer, and they reversed the charge.

I found another great way to protect yourself with online purchases that limits your liability to $0!

Discover Card has set up a zero dollar liability program. The way it works is they generate secure account numbers. Instead of using your real credit card number, Discover Card assigns you a secure number that is linked to your account through a secure database. When you shop online, you enter your assigned secure number.

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If your identity is stolen you need to act fast. Follow the steps below to stop identity thieves in their tracks.

Step 1: Call Your Bank

You are not liable for much (if anything) that is charged on your credit cards in the event of identity theft. Your bank account is a different story though. You can be held liable for any charges that were made before you notified the bank that your accounts had been compromised. So call your bank first, before you do anything else!

Tell them to cancel your debit cards and your checks. If necessary, have them completely close the account and open up a new one. You should also dispute any charges that were made before you called your bank. There is a good chance that you can get the charges credited back to your account. Your individual bank will walk you through this process. I had to do this myself when my identity was stolen, and it was simple, and quick. As long as you take this step first, you will be protected from the worst of the financial damage that an identity thief can inflict.

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Identity theft is big business. In 2007 alone there were over 670,000 reports of consumer fraud and ID theft.

So how do you protect yourself? What can you do to prevent identity theft from happening to you?

While you may not be able to protect yourself from all cases of fraud or identity theft, there are a few simple things that you can do to help keep your information out of criminal hands. If you make these steps your regular habits, they will serve as a shield for your personal information, and make the possibility of identity theft a lot less likely.

Shred Your Personal Information:

Most of us already know that we should be doing this - but very few of us do! You can buy a cheap shredder at any office store, and run every single personal document through it before you throw it away.

Honestly, the possibility of an identity thief spending time sorting through your garbage is becoming more and more remote. There are just easier ways to steal someone’s personal information. However, it does still happen! So it’s still a good idea to protect your identity by shredding your documents and mail. Make sure anything with a bank account number, credit card number, social security number, or even your date of birth gets destroyed before it goes into the trash.

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If you see a charge on your credit card that you did not make, it may just be an error of a miskeyed number. These are easily fixed by calling the credit card company. But if there is more than one charge, or your credit card was stolen, or you see a new credit account on your credit report that you did not apply for, then you are probably a victim of fraud. Follow these steps if you believe that you are a victim of fraud.

1. Add a 90-day security alert to your credit report. There is no cost for this. The alerts allow you to include a telephone number so that businesses can call you when an application is submitted using your identity.

2. Contact each creditor of your accounts with fraudulent activity. If it is a new account that you didn’t establish, be sure to tell them that the account is fraudulent.

3. Document all contacts. Make notes of everyone that you speak to and the date that you speak to them. Get their names, department names, and phone extensions.

4. Understand each creditor process because they can be different. Make sure you understand exactly what is expected from you, and then ask what you can expect from them.

5. At the conclusion of the investigation, ask the creditor for a document that states that you are not responsible for the debt.

6. If you are a fraud victim, add a 7-year victim statement to your credit report. The statement tells lenders to take extra precautions when considering an application because there is an increased risk that fraud is being perpetrated. The statement can delay you being able to get credit, but is a worthy inconveniece to protect your credit.

7. Follow up. Make sure all required documentation was received by the creditor and/or credit reporting agency. It is always a good idea to place a follow-up call or send a letter for confirmation.

8. Review reports regularly. It would be best to subscribe to a service like FreeCreditReport.com for monitoring your credit report or Life Lock for more identity protection. If you do not subscribe to a monitoring service, obtain another credit report several months after you believe everything is cleared up.

If a new fraudulent account is discovered, you know how to handle it. Be sure to check your credit report again in six months and a year later.

Keep all your notes and correspondence in an accessible file in case they are needed in the future.

What a Credit Freeze Is A credit security freeze stops anyone from obtaining access to your credit report without your approval (see the exceptions listed below). You are provided with a personal identification number or password to use for authorizing temporary release of your credit report for a specific requestor or period of time. The pin or password will also have to be used to remove the freeze.

There are state laws that vary about what can be released during a freeze. A security freeze generally does not apply to companies that you already have an account with. Your existing creditors can still review your account for collection, review, or fraud control. Prescreeners are also allowed access, even though you will probably have to release the freeze to actually get the credit.

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1. Have a secure mailbox.
   One of the top ways that identity is stolen is through directly stealing you mail from your mailbox. No matter what type of neighborhood you live in you can be a victim. Have a mailbox that has a lock on it or a mail slot on your house door. The harder it is for a predator to steal your mail, the safer you will be.
2. Opt-out of unsolicited credit card offers.
   When you get credit card offers in the mail that you don’t want, it becomes extra garbage that predators can easily use to steal your identity because simple credit card offers contain enough personal information about you for them to do so. Opting out of unsolicited offers is simple and free to do. See our step by step guide to Opting Out.
3. Do not leave your bills in the mailbox for the mailman to pick up.

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Freecreditreport.com offers you a free Experian credit report and credit score as a part of their free 7 day trial when you sign up for their program. The program costs $11.95 per month if you sign up through us using the link below. Normally, it is $14.95 if you go directly to freecreditreport.com. With this service you get to view your credit report and credit score anytime you want and you are enrolled in credit alerts. This is an easy and cheap way to monitor and protect your credit and identity. For extra cost, freecreditreport.com offers extra services towards protecting you and your children.

Here are the step towards protecting your credit and identity.

1. Click here to sign up.
2. Fill in your personal information (Name, Address, etc.).
3. Press the “Get Yours Now” button.
4. Create a username and password, fill in your personal information and enter your credit card information on this page. Press the Submit Secure Order button when you are finished.
5. Answer the questions to verify your identity and press Continue.
6. You will receive a promotional add about one of freecreditreport.com’s additional services. You may choose to accept this service that adds additional fees, or click the “No, Thanks” button to continue.
7. You should now be on your credit report page.

If you are only on this site for the free credit report and score, you must cancel your account within 7 days by calling 1-888-829-6560. Inside Secret: If you call and try to cancel they will offer you a 50% discount on your membership! This may be a limited time offer but it is always worth a try.

Whether you are looking for a free credit report and score or a cheap and effective way to protect your identity and credit, freecreditreport.com is a great solution. Remember it is important to check your credit report often or have alerts sent to you when there are changes on it. This is the best way to help insure you are not a victim of identity theft. Freecreditreport.com offers a $50,000 guarantee against identity theft.

The most common identity theft is made by stealing your mail. Unsolicited credit offers from credit cards or loans contain personal information that makes it so easy for thieves to steal your identity. You can take measures to protect yourself by opting-out of Consumer Credit Reporting Companies so that you will not receive unsolicited mail.

Here is the quick, free and easy process to opt-out and protect yourself from identity theft.

1. Go to optoutprescreen.com
2. Click on the button at the bottom of the page, which says “Click Here to Opt-In or Opt-Out”.
3. Select the option “Electronically Opt-Out for Five Years” and press Submit.
4. You will be prompt to fill in your personal information. Note: your social security number and you date of birth are not required fields, so you do not have to provide them. However, providing it will help to ensure that your request is processed thoroughly.
5. Press the Confirm button when you are done.

This opt-out option is good for 5 years, and may take about 5 business days to process. You may still receive unsolicited credit offers in the mail until it is fully processed. Make sure you resubmit this request every 5 years or submit a mailed in request to permanently opt-out. If you decide that you want to receive unsolicited offers again, you are able to go on the site and opt-in.

For even more effective measures in making sure you are not a victim of identity theft, we recommend using Life Lock. Life Lock has superior functionality including its TrueAddress feature, which monitors your change of address for better protection. Life Lock also has a 1 million dollar guarantee against identity theft, along with an extensive list of features.

In order to protect your credit, we recommend that you set fraud alerts on your credit file. This is a very quick, free and easy process. Fraud alerts display on your credit file that you suspect you are a victim of fraud, heightening the level of security on it. Therefore, if someone tried to open a credit account in your name, increase the credit limit or obtain a new card on an existing account, the lender should make sure that you are the one who authorized the request.

Here are the quick, free and easy steps to help prevent credit fraud.

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