Identy Theft Information

123Bill takes a strong stance towards the prosecution and resolution of Identity Theft and Fraud. 123Bill will fully co-operate with Law Enforcement agencies to resolve and assist any reported Identy Theft problems. If an account has been established with 123Bill using your personal information you must file a report for identity theft with your local police department. Once we have received a copy of this report or confirmation in writing that it exists from your local police, we will suspend all billing and collections on the balance in question. Our staff is available to help in any way possible and will share all purchase, IP address and email address details so that you can investigate on your own or turn the matter over to authorities.

Instances of suspected "friendly-fraud", or fraud perpetrated by family members, friends, room-mates, co-workers, (etc) are treated with the same severity and must also follow these same guidelines in order to be recognized as truly being an instance of identity theft. If you refuse to follow these guidelines to report a friend or family member to authorities, our recommendation is the following: confront the perpetrator and have them remit payment on your behalf, simultaneously working with our offices to close your account and gather whatever facts we may have to offer in discovering the true perpetrator.

Protect Yourself!

The following information is taken from the Federal Trade Commision's pages on Identiy Theft. If you are a victim, 123Bill encourages you to follow the guidelines set forth by the FTC as outlined below.

If You’re a Victim.
Sometimes an identity thief can strike even if you’ve been very careful about keeping your personal information to yourself. If you suspect that your personal information has been hijacked and misappropriated to commit fraud or theft, take action immediately, and keep a record of your conversations and correspondence. You may want to use the form, “Chart Your Course of Action,” below. Exactly which steps you should take to protect yourself depends on your circumstances and how your identity has been misused. However, four basic actions are appropriate in almost every case.

Your First Four Steps

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

Call the toll-free fraud number of any one of the three major credit bureaus to place a fraud alert on your credit report. This can help prevent an identity thief from opening additional accounts in your name. As soon as the credit bureau confirms your fraud alert, the other two credit bureaus will automatically be notified to place fraud alerts on your credit report, and all three reports will be sent to you free of charge.

Equifax — To report fraud, call: 1-800-525-6285, and write: P.O. Box 740241, Atlanta, GA 30374-0241

Experian — To report fraud, call: 1-888-EXPERIAN (397-3742), and write: P.O. Box 9532, Allen, TX 75013

TransUnion — To report fraud, call: 1-800-680-7289, and write: Fraud Victim Assistance Division, P.O. Box 6790, Fullerton, CA 92834-6790

Once you receive your reports, review them carefully. Look for inquiries you didn’t initiate, accounts you didn’t open, and unexplained debts on your true accounts. Where “inquiries” appear from the company(ies) that opened the fraudulent account(s), request that these “inquiries” be removed from your report. (See “Credit Reports” for more information.) You also should check that information such as your SSN, address(es), name or initial, and employers are correct. Inaccuracies in this information also may be due to typographical errors. Nevertheless, whether the inaccuracies are due to fraud or error, you should notify the credit bureau as soon as possible by telephone and in writing. You should continue to check your reports periodically, especially in the first year after you’ve discovered the theft, to make sure no new fraudulent activity has occurred. The automated “one-call” fraud alert process only works for the initial placement of your fraud alert. Orders for additional credit reports or renewals of your fraud alerts must be made separately at each of the three major credit bureaus.

2. Close any accounts that have been tampered with or opened fraudulently.

Credit Accounts

Credit accounts include all accounts with banks, credit card companies and other lenders, and phone companies, utilities, ISPs, and other service providers.

If you’re closing existing accounts and opening new ones, use new Personal Identification Numbers (PINs) and passwords.

If there are fraudulent charges or debits, ask the company about the following forms for disputing those transactions:

For new unauthorized accounts, ask if the company accepts the ID Theft Affidavit (available at www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/credit/affidavit.pdf or in the Appendix below). If they don’t, ask the representative to send you the company’s fraud dispute forms.
For your existing accounts, ask the representative to send you the company’s fraud dispute forms. If your ATM card has been lost, stolen or otherwise compromised, cancel the card as soon as you can. Get a new card with a new PIN.

Checks

If your checks have been stolen or misused, close the account and ask your bank to notify the appropriate check verification service. While no federal law limits your losses if someone steals your checks and forges your signature, state laws may protect you. Most states hold the bank responsible for losses from a forged check, but they also require you to take reasonable care of your account. For example, you may be held responsible for the forgery if you fail to notify the bank in a timely way that a check was lost or stolen. Contact your state banking or consumer protection agency for more information.

You also should contact these major check verification companies. Ask that retailers who use their databases not accept your checks.

TeleCheck — 1-800-710-9898 or 927-0188

Certegy, Inc. — 1-800-437-5120

International Check Services — 1-800-631-9656

Call SCAN (1-800-262-7771) to find out if the identity thief has been passing bad checks in your name.

3. File a report with your local police or the police in the community where the identity theft took place.

Keep a copy of the report. You may need it to validate your claims to creditors. If you can’t get a copy, at least get the report number.

4. File a complaint with the FTC.

By sharing your identity theft complaint with the FTC, you will provide important information that can help law enforcement officials track down identity thieves and stop them. The FTC also can refer victim complaints to other appropriate government agencies and companies for further action. The FTC enters the information you provide into our secure database.

To file a complaint or to learn more about the FTC’s Privacy Policy, visit www.consumer.gov/idtheft. If you don’t have access to the Internet, you can call the FTC’s Identity Theft Hotline: toll-free 1-877-IDTHEFT (438-4338); TDD: 202-326-2502; or write: Identity Theft Clearinghouse, Federal Trade Commission, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20580.

Tips on Filing a Police Report Provide documentation. Furnish as much documentation as you can to prove your case. Debt collection letters, credit reports, your notarized ID Theft Affidavit, and other evidence of fraudulent activity can help the police file a complete report. Be persistent. Local authorities may tell you that they can’t take a report. Stress the importance of a police report; many creditors require one to resolve your dispute. Also remind them that under their voluntary “Police Report Initiative,” credit bureaus will automatically block the fraudulent accounts and bad debts from appearing on your credit report, but only if you can give them a copy of the police report. If you can’t get the local police to take a report, try your county police. If that doesn’t work, try your state police. If you’re told that identity theft is not a crime under your state law, ask to file a Miscellaneous Incident Report instead. See the list of state laws below. Be a motivating force. Ask your police department to search the FTC’s Consumer Sentinel database for other complaints in your community. You may not be the first or only victim of this identity thief. If there is a pattern of cases, local authorities may give your case more consideration. That’s why it’s also important to file a complaint with the FTC. Law enforcement agencies use complaints filed with the FTC to aggregate cases, spot patterns, and track growth in identity theft. This information can then be used to improve investigations and victim assistance. Tips on Organizing Your Case Accurate and complete records will greatly improve your chances of resolving your identity theft case. Follow up in writing with all contacts you’ve made on the phone or in person. Use certified mail, return receipt requested. Keep copies of all correspondence or forms you send. Write down the name of anyone you talk to, what he or she told you, and the date the conversation occurred. Use Chart Your Course of Action, below, to help you. Keep the originals of supporting documentation, like police reports, and letters to and from creditors; send copies only. Set up a filing system for easy access to your paperwork. Keep old files even if you believe your case is closed. One of the most difficult and annoying aspects of identity theft is that errors can reappear on your credit reports or your information can be re-circulated. Should this happen, you’ll be glad you kept your files.