Credit Cards, Credit Card Offers and Credit Card Guide

Apr Credit Card By Jim Kouri

Unused credit cards are putting millions of Brits at greater risk of falling victim to identity theft, according to a specialist credit history firm.

Bad Credit Credit Card (AXcess News) New York - An estimated 3.6 million households, or about 3 percent of all households in the nation, learned that they had been the victim of at least one type of identity theft during a six-month period in 2004, according to an April 2 report by the US Justice Department's Bureau of Justice Statistics.

Stop identity theft All is not lost, You can still uncover identity theft if you're willing to monitor your financial records regularly. Your credit reports can show unauthorized activity made in your name; so can your bank and credit card statements, depending on how the identity thief targets you. There are also programs available that can alert you to changes in your credit report, and some credit card issuers make an attempt to contact their customers if they detect unusual buying patterns or other signs of abnormal card usage.

Low Apr Credit Card Forty-eight percent had experienced an unauthorized use of credit cards; 25 percent had other accounts, such as banking accounts, used without permission; 15 percent experienced the misuse of personal information and 12 percent experienced multiple types of theft at the same time. These findings represent six-month estimates based on interviews conducted from July through December 2004 for the BJS National Crime Victimization Survey.

"Three out of five students with credit cards in our survey had already maxed them out during their freshmen year and, three out of five freshmen with multiple credit cards were already using bank cards to pay for other revolving credit accounts. Furthermore, fourths of students use their student loans to pay for their credit cards. Not incidentally, recent studies indicate that this indiscriminate marketing to college students has led to high incidences of fraud and identity theft among this young adult population, " Manning testified.²⁹⁷

The Best Credit Card Households headed by young people (18-24 years old), those in urban or suburban areas and those with incomes of $75,000 or more were the most likely to experience identity theft. Victimization did not differ by race or ethnicity.

Identity Theft is when someone uses someone else’s personal identifying information for illegal purposes. or obtaining credit in the victim’s name. ID Theft can be as simple as illegally using another’s credit card for fraudulent purchases, or it can be more complex where the Identity Thief uses another’s personal information to apply for and obtain new credit, for example, for a new credit card or home loan. Unfortunately the illegal purpose may be committed over long periods of time before the victim even discovers the fraud.

Credit Card Debt Consolidation About one-third of households that were identity theft victims discovered the loss by noticing missing money or unfamiliar charges on an account, and about one-quarter were contacted by a credit bureau. The estimated loss during the 6-month period was about $3.2 billion. This included losses that may have been reimbursed by credit card companies, insurance companies or other financial institutions.

Securing assets as diverse as credit reports, medical records and credit card accounts, the protection offered by the kit covers not only the purchaser, but extends to a second adult as well as children and elderly parents. The kit, initially launching on January 19, 2008 on QVC®, is also offered at a special introductory price that is less than half the price of other identity protection products that typically protect one individual. Together, these elements make Suze Orman's Identity Theft kit the most complete, effective identity theft solution available today

Travel Reward Credit Card About two-thirds of the households said they lost money. The average loss was $1,290. Some households for which misuse was still ongoing at the time of the interview may have continued to suffer losses.

Low Interest Credit Card About one-quarter of all victimized households said the misuse had not stopped. The misuse was more likely to have stopped for households experiencing credit card theft (78 percent) than those experiencing theft of other existing accounts (65 percent) or the misuse of personal information (54 percent).

Credit Card Company One-third of the victimized households experienced one or more problems caused by identity theft. The most common problem was being contacted by a debt collector (34 percent), followed by problems with bank accounts (31 percent) and credit cards (26 percent)

Student Credit Card About one in five households spent at least one month resolving their problems. One-third said the problems were resolved in one day. At the time of the interview about one-sixth said the misuse was still causing problems.

Credit Card Deal The survey questions were asked of one household member, who provided information about other property crimes the entire household may have suffered. The survey did not obtain information on which household members were victims.

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