REPORTING CREDIT FRAUD

If you're a victim of identity theft,1 of the first things to do is to call thecredit reporting agencies to put a"fraud alert" on your report. This letslenders know that you believe someoneis fraudulently trying to obtainloans or open charge accounts inyour name. Recently, letting creditbureaus know that you suspect fraudor identity theft got a little easier. The3 major credit bureaus (Experian,888-397-3742; Equifax, 888-766-0008; and TransUnion, 800-680-7289) have agreed to share fraudreports, which means that instead ofcalling all 3 firms, you only need tocall 1 firm. Complaints about identitytheft to the Federal Trade Commission(FTC) doubled last yearover the year before, which has ledthe FTC's list of consumer frauds forthe past 3 years. For more information,visit www.consumer.gov/idtheft.