After they stole my name, I switched into high gear to prevent them from hijacking my sterling credit history.
SOME 41 MILLION AMERICANS have been victims of identity theft, says a recent survey from Bankrate.com, but I (irrationally) always thought I’d be immune. Then, last September, I got the call.
My wife and I were in the Lake District of England, in a well-worn 18th-century hotel not far from the bucolic estate where Wordsworth lived and composed his poetry. The caller was a woman from the fraud department of Capital One, asking if I’d applied for a second Capital One credit card. I had not. Capital One turned down the application, she told me in a soothing voice. “But whoever tried to open this account has your Social Security number and date of birth,” she said. The credit application raised a red flag because the imposter listed his (actually, my) address as Springfield, Ill. I live in Washington, D.C., and have for most of my life.
She told me to contact the three major credit bureaus, review my reports and consider putting a fraud alert on my accounts. I already knew the drill, because Kiplinger’s gives the same advice to all victims of ID theft.
Maybe I shouldn’t have been surprised. Just before we left on vacation, I had spotted two small deposits to my checking account from PayPal—an indication that someone was trying to connect a PayPal account with my bank account. I had spent precious pre-vacation hours closing my checking account, opening a new one, ordering new checks, and changing direct deposits and automatic payments.
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة September 2017 من Kiplinger's Personal Finance.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك ? تسجيل الدخول
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة September 2017 من Kiplinger's Personal Finance.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك? تسجيل الدخول
FREE HELP FOR COLLEGEBOUND STUDENTS
This program’s mentors assist applicants as they fill out the FAFSA, write essays and more.
WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT SPOUSAL IRAS
You typically need earned income to contribute to an individual retirement account, but a spousal IRA provides an important exception to this rule.
SELLING SHARES? HERE'S HOW TO MINIMIZE TAXES ON YOUR GAINS
ET'S say you've been regularly buying shares in a booming tech company over the past few years, but now you want to start taking some of those profits, perhaps to rebalance your portfolio.
Strategies for Novice Investors
AS part of a lifes kills program for young, single mothers, I was asked to teach a class on how to get on top of your finances.
ANSWERS TO YOUR 529 PLAN QUESTIONS
Thanks to recent policy changes, families have more options for what to do with money sitting in these tax-advantaged accounts.
Rate-Cut Winners and Losers
NOW that the Federal Reserve has cracked the interest rate ice, the next development will be to separate winners from losers.
SHOULD YOU BUY THESE RED-HOT FUNDS?
Covered-call ETFs are popular but come with plenty of caveats.
DIVIDEND STOCKS ARE READY TO REBOUND
Our favorite dividend payers are poised to benefit as falling interest rates lure investors back.
IS A 55+ COMMUNITY RIGHT FOR YOU?
These age-restricted developments appeal to older adults seeking abundant amenities and an active lifestyle.
AT LONG LAST, RATES ARE DROPPING
Consider these portfolio moves now that the Federal Reserve has cut its benchmark interest rate.