Identity Theft: What Military Personnel Can Do While On Active Duty to Prevent Being Victims of Identity Theft

As a person serving in the military, it would definitely be an additional burden for you if you keep worrying about identity theft while you are on active duty or you are deployed for service. It’s enough to risk your life for your country but someone assuming your identity while you are deployed in another country to commit fraud or identity theft is too much.

However, thanks to the Amendments to the Fair Credit Reporting Act, you can be sure that your finances will be kept secured from identity theft. With this law, your credit report may be marked with active duty alert if you choose to, which means that anyone who is attempting to open a credit card account in your name will be denied, questioned and possibly imprisoned.

What the active duty alert status in your credit report will do is that it will require the creditors the person who is trying to open an account in your name to verify their identity before they can grant credit. In fact, you too will be required to verify your own identity if you still have an active duty status in your credit report.

The credit report will also contain personal information which will include your address, whether you have been sued or arrested, have filed for bankruptcy and even how you pay your bills. Creditors, insurers, business, and employers will be able to use this information to evaluate you when you apply for credit, insurance or when you are planning to rent a home.

As you can see, the credit report can also act as a guardian or even let you discover whether identity theft is being committed in your name.

What identity thieves usually do is open a credit card account in your name, purchase the things they want to purchase, and then they disregard the bills. With the overdue account, it will be submitted and included in your credit report which will significantly affect your credit rating or credit score.

Identity theft is a very serious crime. It will not only leave you with financial woes, but it will also leave you with a bad credit score which can take months or even years to repair.

So, if you are in the military and you are away on duty, you may want to try placing an active duty alert status in your credit report. This will prevent or at least minimize the risk of getting victimized by identity theft when you are away for duty. When creditors see the active duty status on your credit report, they will be required to confirm your identity before they issue any credit. They may contact you directly but if you are on deployment and are not possible for the creditor to contact you, they will contact the personal representative you chose.

You can place an active duty status on your credit report with one of the three credit bureaus, which are Experian, Trans Union, or Equifax. Before you can do so, you will need to prove your identity by bringing official documents with you, which can include your name, address, birth certificate, social security number, and other information that can prove that you are you.

These are the things that you can do as military personnel who want to safeguard themselves from identity theft. By doing this, you will be able to protect your financial status and also keep your mind at ease while you are away on active duty or when you are on deployment.

All in all, you have nothing to worry about as your credit report will be able to safeguard you from being a victim of identity theft.

Entry Filed under: identity theft