March 12,2008
Volume 1 Issue 1
www.cleancreditqueen.com

Welcome Ronald

I am excited to announce the first issue of 'Clean Credit Chronicles'.

This is a monthly newsletter for those of you who want to make smarter wealth building decisions for yourself and your family. Since I am not an accountant or lawyer, I will not be giving either financial or legal advice. However, I can share with you the kinds of information you need everyday from applying for a credit card to dealing with Identity Theft.

The purpose of this newsletter is to provide you with the information, ideas, tools, and, most importantly, the action steps you can take to help you polish your credit and increase your credit worthiness.

Email me with questions and comments and be sure to join me each month as we explore ways to make your credit shine!

New Workshop Classes now forming!

Credit Essentials

Chantilly, Virginia        March 29, 2008

Go To www.CleanCreditQueen.com for details and to register.
See coupon at the end of the newsletter.

Are you like 258,427 other consumers?

From: Consumer Sentinel (2/13/08 report)

I hope you said "No!"  This is not a group that you want to be a part of!

According to a report put out in February 2008 by the Federal Trade Commission, 258,427 is the number of Identity Theft complaints that were filed with the FTC last year. That number makes up 32% of the total number of complaints received!

Since the FTC gathers data from over 125 other organizations, this number is a pretty accurate representation of what is going on out there. The most amazing fact is that 65% of these victims did not even file a police report!

The FTC report ranked all of the states in order of number of complaints.  The metropolitan areas with the highest per capita rates of reported consumer fraud complaints are Albany-Lebanon, Oregon; Greeley, Colorado; and Napa, California.

So what were all of these people complaining about?

• Credit card fraud (23%) was the most common form of reported identity theft, followed by phone or utilities fraud (18%), employment fraud (14%), government documents/benefits fraud (11%), loan fraud (5%), and bank fraud (13%).
• Electronic fund transfer-related identity theft continues to be the most frequently reported type of identity theft bank fraud during calendar year 2007.

If you use any of these forms of money or information transfer, be sure to check out next month's newsletter and the "Protect Yourself" article.

Protect yourself agains Identity Theft over the phone.

By Linda Adams, Clean Credit Queen

As I was writing this newsletter, I got a call from a doctor's office, reminding me of my eye appointment next week. The nurse called me by my previous married last name (I remarried just over a year ago) so I continued with the conversation. I did not remember that doctor's name, but I had been to an ophthalmologist within the past two years, so I could have had a follow up appointment I had forgotten. I went merrily along answering the nurse's questions about my health care provider and when the last time I might have been in their office so she could try and help me to remember when I made that appointment. Finally,I said it must not be me after all.

After I hung up the phone my husband made a comment about how much information I was giving out to someone I really did not know. (We share our office space and he had overheard to my conversation.) After all of the studying I have done on credit and credit repair, imagine how I felt when I realized how easily I had given up data about myself. I immediately called the doctor;s office back and asked more questions. Things like, what was their exact address, when was the appointment made, what was the appointment for? Since it turned out to be for cataracts, I knew for sure I was not me they were trying to reach. At that point I asked them to remove my cell phone from that person's records.

I had allowed the perceived validity of a doctor's office calling for a perfectly ordinary reason, to short circuit my good sense. Ironically I was even in the middle of working on this exact article.

I was lucky, this was just an innocent case of mixed up files, but what should I have done before I gave out any information to someone I did not immediately recognize?

Keep these tips by your phone for those times you are unsure who is calling:

1.     Verify the caller's identity by asking questions to find out their name, who they are, and why they are calling.

2.     Get a phone number and call them back - you can say it is just in case you get disconnected.

3.     Check out the name and address on the Internet.

4.     Get details on the type of information they want, find out why they need that data.

5.     Never give out your full name, address, social security number, phone number, date of birth, number of people in your house, who else is home, or any other identifying information

6.     Ask to speak with a supervisor if they are less than cooperative.

7.     Explain that you are trying to protect yourself from becoming a victim of Identity Theft and ask for their cooperation in verifying who they are before you give out your data. You can also say that you do not have time to talk and will call them back later.

Remember to S.E.E. ^®

• STOP blindly following directions
• EXAMINE the situation
• EXECUTE the appropriate response

If you are a victim of Identity Theft...

from FTC Facts for Consumers

If you are a victim of identity theft, take the following four steps as soon as possible, and keep a record with the details of your conversations and copies of all correspondence.

1. Place a fraud alert on your credit reports, and review your credit reports.

Equifax: 1-800-525-6285; www.equifax.com

Experian: 1-888-EXPERIAN (397-3742); www.experian.com

TransUnion: 1-800-680-7289; www.transunion.com

2. Close the accounts that you know, or believe, have been tampered with or opened fraudulently (or at least put a freeze on them). Call and speak with someone in the security or fraud department of each company. Follow up in writing, and include copies (NOT originals) of supporting documents.

3. File a report with your local police or the police in the community where the identity theft took place. Then, get a copy of the police report or, at the very least, the number of the report.

4. File a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission. You will provide important information that can help law enforcement officials across the nation track down identity thieves and stop them. You can file a complaint online at www.consumer.gov/idtheft , by phone at 1-877-IDTHEFT (438-4338); TTY: 1-866-653- 4261, or by mail: Identity Theft Clearinghouse, Federal Trade Commission, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20580.

If do you become the 258,428^th victim, make a formal complaint and help the FTC take one more step toward stopping this terrible crime. Also,be sure to call the Hotline to update your complaint if you have any additional information or problems. (email me for complete article)