Equifax Hack and Protecting Your Privacy and Help

Hi All,

As you might have heard by now, Equifax got hacked in late July 2017.  It was only a few days ago that they revealed that the company got hacked. Click on the following bunch of articles and links (10 of them in fact!) from various sources to learn more about the data breach.  Hope this helps!

Regards,
Stu

FTC - Equifax Data Breach: What to Do?

Get Your Annual - Free - Credit Report

FTC - Consider Placing a Credit Freeze on Your  Credit Report

FTC - All About Credit Scores 

USAToday - How to Freeze Your Credit? 

CBS News - video - How to Protect Yourself Against the Equifax Credit Breach

NYTimes -  Equifax's Instructions Are Confusing. Here's What to Do Now.

NYTimes -  After Equifax Breach - Here's Your Next Worry: Weak PINs

NYTimes - Equifax - Bowing to Public Pressure, Drops Credit Freeze Fees

NYTimes - Equifax Hack Exposes Regulatory Gaps, Leaving Consumers Vulnerable

Hi All,

So by now you probably know the importance of getting your free credit report once a year.  If not, click on this link which will explain why getting a credit report is important - and its even better when its free! This link is from USA Today and also explains why a credit report is important.

How do you get a free credit report you ask? Great question and here's the answer - click on this link from Annual CreditReport.com.


AnnualCreditReport.com is the official site to get your free annual credit reports.  AnnualCreditReport.com is sponsored by Equifax, Experian and TransUnion - which means that you have a single site where you can ask for all three of your free credit reports.

Enjoy the links and next time I'll blog about why credit scores are important and what the actual numbers (scores) mean.

Regards,
Stu

Is This Site Safe?

Hi All,

Norton Safe Web is enables users to find out if a website has any computer threats, identity threats or annoyance threats to users.  Basically Norton Safe Web analyzes websites for safety and security problems and gives users a report for review.   The Norton rating is a results of Symantec's automated analysis system. 

Click here to learn a bit more about Norton Safe Web. Click this link to get information from Norton Safe Web's link to Community Buzz which discusses latest reviews, latest threats and most reviewed sites.

Enjoy the site.

Regards,
Stu

More on Identity Theft

Hi All,

The statistics are telling - and daunting:

approximately 15 million US residents have their identities used fraudulently each year

From 2005 to 2010, the percentage of all households with one or more type of identity theft that suffered no direct financial loss increased from 18.5% to 23.7%.    

about 7% of persons age 16 or older were victims of identity theft in 2014, similar to findings in 2012  

For even more identity theft and fraud statistics, click on this link from StatisticBrain.com...

So...what to do about identity theft?

First, visit IdentityTheft.gov - which is part of the Federal Trade Commission. 

As they say IdentityTheft.gov can help you  report and recover from identity theft.  Their step-by-step plan is quick, easy and very, very effective.  

1. Tell them what happened - they ask questions about your situation.  The more information that you can provide the better the outcome. 

2. You get a recovery program.  They use the information you furnished in step one to help develop a personal recovery plan. 

3. Put the plan into action.  If you create an account, they (IdentityTheft.gov) will walk you through each recovery step, update your plan as needed, track your progress pre-fill forms and letters for you. 

If id theft has already happened, click on this link which explains 'what to do right away'. This particular page has links for contacting additional offices for certain accounts (utilities, phones, government benefits, checking accounts, student loans, investment accounts and more)

Hopefully id theft never happens to you, but if it does, these links might help. 

Regards, 
Stu                     

Scams, Fraud and Scheme's: A How-To Avoid Them

Hi All,

I just found a very helpful site on the web from the Federal Trade Commission.  The previous link is for the Consumer Information section of the site - which is tremendously valuable to consumers - trust me...you'll see why in a minute.

There are other links on the site with information on Money & Credit, Homes & Mortgages, Health & Fitness, Jobs & Making Money, Privacy & Identity, Blog, and Video & Media.

The FTC homepage has a rotating set of highly relevant consumer videos and links when you visit the site: topics include: Hijacked Computer? What To Do, IRS Imposter Scams, Checking Your Credit Report and Cobradores De Dueda (Scams Targeting the Latino Community information).
 
The section of the site that I want to discuss in detail is the Privacy and Identity section.  When you click on the Privacy and Identity section you have a bunch of options: Limiting Unwanted Calls and Emails, Computer Security, Kids' Online Safety, Protecting Your Identity and Repairing Identity Theft.  Click on any of the prior links to go to that particular subject.

The section on Protecting You Identity discusses Active Duty Alerts, Credit Freezes, Financial Readiness,  Keeping Your Personal Information Secure, Identity Theft Protection Services and a link to Signs of Identity Theft.

As is usual for many federal government websites, there is a search box at the top right side of the page on all pages on the website.  The site is available in Spanish as well.

There are also links on the page for Related Items, the FTC Privacy Policy, About the FTC and links to Contact the FTC. Users can stay connected with the FTC by getting email updates, viewing the FTC blog feed, using Facebook, YouTube and/or Twitter.

Hopefully you won't need to use the resources on the site - but if you do...I hope they are helpful and easy to use.

Regards,
Stu

Consumer Action Handbook

Hi All,

The new, 2014 Consumer Action Handbook (CAH hereafter in this blog entry) is now available for download now.  Readers can download the CAH by clicking on this link.

A good summary of the CAH is that, 'Users can use the Consumer Action Handbook (CAH) to get help with consumer purchases, problems and complaints. Find consumer contacts at hundreds of companies and trade associations, local, state, and federal government agencies, national consumer organizations, and more'

The 2014 CAH is 148 pages long and is divided into 4 parts:
Part I - Be a Savvy Consumer
Part II - Filing a Complaint
Part III - Key Information Sources
Part IV - Consumer Assistance Directory

In the 'Be a Savvy Consumer' section alone the reader will learn about 'Service Contracts and Extended Warranties', 'Identifying and Stopping Fraud', 'Shopping From Home', using 'ATM/Debit Cards', using 'Prepaid Cards', 'Buying a New Car', 'Buying a Used Car', 'Financing', 'Leasing', 'Lemon Laws', 'Car Repairs' and much, much more. 

this part on 'Being a Savvy Consumer' has further sections on 'Credit Reports and Credit Scores', 'Dealing with Debt', 'Paying For College 101' and more. 

The book is 148 pages for a reason! It is extensive, comprehensive and chock full of useful information for consumers of all needs and interests. And it is free!  What a helpful resource!!!!

Other sections that are notable in the 'Be a Savvy Consumer' section include: 'Insurance' - which covers Auto Insurance, Health Insurance, Homeowners/Renters Insurance, Life Insurance and more, 'Privacy and Identity Theft', 'Telemarketing and Unwanted Mail' (National Do Not Call Registry', 'Travel' (Resolving Air Travel Problems, Cruises, Travel Safety) and 'Utilities' (Billing questions and starting Utility Service).

There is one section in particular that users should be aware of: Part III - Key Information Resources contains a list of  various federal agencies that deal with various products.

For example,
 - Animal Products safety hazards are dealt with the Food and Drug Administration
 - Automobile safety hazards are dealt with the national Highway Traffic Safety Administration
 - Consumer Household Product hazards are dealt with by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.

Finally, 'Key Information Resources' has information regarding Drugs, Cosmetics, Medical Devices, Toys, Baby Products and Play Equipment in this section. 

So there you have it.  A blog entry that might be short on additional links, is very, very long on useful, helpful, time-saving and money-saving information!

Enjoy the free download - and remember that you can access the CAH by clicking on this link!

Regards,
Stu

AARP Scam Fighter Map

Hi All,

Some readers might be familiar with the senior group 'AARP'.   Others might not be familiar with the organization.  Well, AARP is an acronym which stands for 'American Association of Retired Persons and it is one of the premier senior citizen advocacy groups in the United States.

Scams against seniors are prevalent.  Very prevalent.  And, with scams against seniors from scam artists using tools like telephones, cellphones, credit cards, internet fraud/scams, banking scams and more, senior citizens (okay....actually folks of any age, gender, race or religion) need to be aware of various scams that are currently be used by scam artists.  

With that said, readers of all ages, religion, gender might want to visit the AARP Fraud Watch Network website by clicking on this link.

Basically the AARP's Fraud Watch Network links users with experts, law enforcement and people like you who are on the lookout for scams. Users can check out the latest alerts from state Attorneys General and other local officials, read what people are reporting in your state and you can let AARP know about any suspicious emails, phone calls or other scams you’ve seen in your area.   AARP will then add your experience to the map so others know what to watch out for!

How is that for interactive, timely and helpful.

Users can sign up for the Fraud Watch Network alert to stay up-to-date on con artists' latest tricks by clicking on this link!  

Enjoy the site and the link.  Hope it helps you protect yourself against con artists!

Regards,
Stu

Customer Service - Or Lack Thereof

Hi All,

Welcome to a Friday morning. Won't you have a cup of coffee with your daily dose of the Farmingdale library reference blog? Please enjoy a bagel with this blog also...

So I had to have an item delivered from a fairly well-known store yesterday. Alas, the item was not delivered when it was supposed to even though said retailer promised delivery between 3pm and 7pm last night. I was waiting until at least 10pm before I just gave up and went to sleep. (I did call the retailer's customer service department to find out where the item was and if was going to be delivered...they said yes on both accounts. Go figure.)

My point is not to bore you with my trevails...my point is to generate an interesting introduction to a blog post. So, what would you do if you needed to lodge a complaint against a store or business or other organization?

Simple, click here to visit the Better Business Bureau main website. Enter your zip code to go to the local chapter of the BBB. You can also click here to visit the New York chapter of the BBB.

Click on the Consumer link and you'll have all sorts of options of checking out whether or not a business is a member of the BBB, if the business has had any customer complaints lodged against it over the last 3 years, ownership information and more.

Possibly the most important part of the site is this link where consumers can lodge complains against businesses, organizations and other groups. There are other important and relevant parts to the BBB site which are definitely worth looking at. A small effort on consumers' part can make a big difference in preventing a problem with a contractor, company or organization. Think of all the time and agita that could be avoided with a bit of homework! That's good, value added stuff!

Another good site to research businesses and organizations is the Office of Consumer Affairs of Nasau County.

In a way that is somewhat similar to the BBB, the Nassau County Office of Consumer Affairs has two sections: one for consume resources, another for Business resources. I'm going to give a brief overview of the Consumer Resources section.

First, the Nassau County OCA (Office of Consumer Affairs - I sometimes like to abbreviate things, it saves time and effort...) is a county website. As such the info on OCA is unbiased, pretty darn timely and very, very helpful.

For example, just on the main page for Consumers you can find very accessible links to Consumer Information, Home Improvement Contractors to Avoid (how about that! what a great link!), Consumer Forms, consumer complaints, information on identity theft (that could - and probably will be a blog post at some time in the future), users can check gas and oil prices in New York on the site also, get FOIL requests (Freedom of Information requests) and much more.

Its funny because when I originally thought about writing a blog entry about my experience last night with the retailer I wanted to include some links to other consumer websites....but, as this entry has gone over my normal length, I'll keep you in suspense and include the sites in a future blog. I hope you check back for the part II entry to this post because I really, really think you'll enjoy it. There will be some very valuable nuggets in it!

Regards and have a great weekend.
Stu

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