Millions of American each year are faced with the reality that a stranger has stolen their personal information. To help protect consumers from identity theft, the three major credit bureaus have each introduced their own credit monitoring services. But are they worth their cost? Financial experts Ken and Daria Dolan weigh the pros and cons of these services.
Irony
Identity theft among minors is becoming a growing problem. While it’s nearly impossible to determine the exact amount of cases that occur each year, in 2005 the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) reported that about 400,000 minors had their identities misused. The experts at Experian, one of the country’s three main credit bureaus, estimated that number rose above 500,000 in 2008.
How does it happen? Adults who have squandered their credit steal a child’s Social Security Number and create a false identity with a squeaky-clean record. Even though the criminals usually proceed to pile on new charges and create a new host of debt collectors on their tail, writer Mandy Locke writes: Read the rest of this entry »
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