By Derek Peterson

Justice in Motion

With the holiday season in full swing, some of us are in full cheer mode. Although the holidays can be a time of joy and celebration, the unfortunate reality is holidays are open season for cyberthieves to target your identity and personal information. This (and tax) season are when reports of cyberattacks skyrocket. Cybercriminals lurk in every corner, and do whatever they can to take advantage of unsuspecting victims—folks are distracted and less vigilant during the busy run-up to the holidays.

Although one cannot entirely prevent identity theft or unauthorized access to personal information, everyone can minimize their risk of being impacted by taking certain precautions. Listed below are five consumer protection tips to consider during the holiday season and throughout the year.

Diligently monitor your credit reports. Under federal law, you are entitled to one free copy of your credit report every year from each of the three major credit reporting companies—Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. To order your free credit reports, call 1-877-322-8228, or visit www.annualcreditreport.com. Regularly reviewing your credit reports is important. It will help in identifying inaccuracies and signs of fraudulent or suspicious activity—and each report has steps on how to dispute incorrect information in your reports.

Consider enrolling in a credit monitoring service. If you do not want to deal with the hassle of checking your credit reports, consider enrolling in a credit monitoring service. These services usually charge a monthly subscription fee and provide notifications of fraudulent or suspicious activity. In choosing a service, be sure it includes credit monitoring for all three credit reporting companies. Certain programs offer free credit monitoring in exchange for allowing them to use your personal credit data to advertise to you. These programs are not recommended, because you should always err on protecting your personal information, and the offers typically do not provide monitoring of all three credit reporting companies.

Consider freezing your credit reports. Of all the identity and credit protection strategies available, one of the most effective is a credit freeze. When you place a freeze on your credit report, potential creditors cannot access your credit report unless you take affirmative steps to lift the freeze. As a result, any unauthorized applications for credit are denied, preventing fraudulent accounts from being opened in the first instance. Thanks to an amendment to the Fair Credit Reporting Act last year, freezing your credit report is FREE; however, you need to freeze your credit reports separately at each credit reporting company. Equifax: call 800-349-9960; Experian: call 888‑397‑3742; TransUnion: call 888-909-8872.

NOTE: It is important to pay particular attention to the steps on how to lift the freeze, which you can do permanently or temporarily. You may want to lift it briefly to allow legitimate access to your credit information—for example, opening a new credit card account, applying for a loan, etc. If you do not follow the steps carefully—typically requiring you to have a code and being able to verify certain personal information, unfreezing your account can be cumbersome and time-consuming.

Consider making purchases with a credit card, not a debit card, if possible. From a consumer protection perspective, using a credit card for purchases, especially online purchases, is strongly recommended. Most credit card issuers provide “zero-liability protection” to their customers—fraudulent purchases are usually immediately “charged back” to your account while the company researches the breach—typically issuing a new card at the same time. This means if cybercriminals intercept your credit card information for unauthorized transactions, you are not responsible for the charge. Even if your card issuer does not provide this coverage, the Fair Credit Billing Act limits your liability for unauthorized credit card charges to $50.

In contrast, if someone makes a fraudulent charge on your debit card, the money comes directly out of your personal bank account. It can take considerable time to resolve these transactions, sometimes not resulting in your favor if you fail to report it promptly—and often nowhere near as favorable an outcome if using a credit card. In the meantime, money you need from your bank account to pay bills, purchase food, medicine, pay rent, etc., will NOT be available. Either way, you should review your transaction statements (debit or credit) EVERY month to verify the purchases are accurate.

Practice good password hygiene. Most consumer advocates recommend regularly changing your passwords and never using the same password twice. In general, longer passwords are more secure than short ones. For help remembering your passwords, consider using a password management program. These programs keep all of your passwords in a virtual vault and lock it with a single master password. They also have the ability to generate unique, complex passwords to help safeguard your accounts. One basic tip: always change letters in normal words to numbers or symbols—such as Northwest (N0rthw35t) Justice (Ju5t!c3) Project (Pr0!3ct).

For more information and tips, check out the website for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau at https://www.consumerfinance.gov/.

Have a safe and happy holiday season!

Derek Peterson is an attorney for the Northwest Justice Project, which helps eligible people with legal problems. To find out if you qualify, contact the Aberdeen office at (360) 533-2282 or toll free (866) 402-5293. No walk-ins, please. Depending on available resources and the type of case, callers may be directed to a toll-free intake and referral hotline, commonly known as “CLEAR” (Coordinated Legal Education Advice and Referral), which is staffed by Northwest Justice Project attorneys who can provide information, advice and brief services.

CLEAR 1-888-201-1014, Mondays through Fridays, 9:15 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. If you are a senior, 60 and over, please call 1-888-387-7111; you may be eligible regardless of income. Language interpreters are available. You can also complete an application for services at nwjustice.org/get-legal-help. Be sure to also check out our law library at: www.washingtonlawhelp.org.