ID Theft, Solar Contractors, Disclosing Defects FAQ Oakland CA

When you have questions needing answers that really hit home, contact the Deadline Newsroom. This installment: ID-theft/credit monitoring; solar contractors; disclosing defects.

by Broderick Perkins
© 2008 DeadlineNews.Com




Deadline Newsroom - Q: I'm concerned about identity theft. Should I buy a credit monitoring service?

A: Only if you are too busy to take no-cost steps to do it yourself. Everyone should be concerned about identity theft, which happens when someone pilfers your personal information to masquerade as you to make purchases, withdraw cash or open accounts in your name.

Credit monitoring services help you quickly spot evidence of ID-theft by keeping tabs on your credit report for suspicious activity. The services charge you $50 to $100 a year, but Consumer Reports calls the services "overrated, oversold, and overpriced."

That's because federal law allows you to do-it-yourself by getting your credit report from each major credit reporting agency -- Equifax, Experian and TransUnion -- every year. That means, if you spread out the freebie access and obtain one report from a different agency every four months, you've effectively set up your own credit monitoring service. The federally sanctioned freebie is at AnnualCreditReport.com. Avoid similar-sounding Web sites. ...

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