Thomas Heydt-Benjamin was the researcher that discovered that RFID chips could be read using a simple type of reader that can read your credit card while it is still in your wallet and give all of your private credit details to a thief easily.  But even Heydt-Benjamin acknowledged that the spread of RFID technology has potential to do a lot of good.  There could be abuses where just buying a product at a store could result in your movements being.  But if some security is added to the good technology, we can have the best of both worlds.

Knowing About RFID Abuse: Knowledge is Power

If you are just learning about the potential abuses of RFID technology, this is a good time to get involved in the fight.  The standards and protocols for how RFID chips should be implemented are being written by GS1 US and an international partner, EPC Global.  Many big companies like Wal-Mart are poised to make huge investments in RFID technology.  But the opinions of their customers means a lot even to big companies like Wal-Mart.  So if consumers get informed and take action, it can make a big difference.

The profit margins for retailers like Wal-Mart are very thin so if they fear that implementing a new technology like RFID might run off a percentage of their customers, that is a risk they don’t want to take.  If a small number of vocal customers of these big retailers speak up, even if your numbers are less than 1% of their total customer base, they will sit up and take notice.  There are things we, as consumers, can do.

What to do About the Use of RFID by Retailers

• A letter writing campaign is one of the most effective measures you can take to get the attention of a big retailer.  Be polite but blunt that you do not want any further with the implementation of RFID technology in the products you buy from that retailer.  Send copies going to influential decision makers.  So send a copy to the agency that is deciding how RFID will be used.  That address is…

GS1 US
1009 Lenox Drive
Suite 202
Lawrenceville, New Jersey 08648

• You can see if your credit card uses RFID technology by holding it up to a bright light.  If you see a dark dot in the card and a thin line that connects to the card edges, that is an RFID chip.  If you find it, you can send that card back and ask for a credit card that does not carry RFID technology.  Follow that action up with a strong letter to the president of the credit card company stating that you insist that RFID chips be implemented only when better security is available.  You can even forward your congressmen to keep the heat on at the governmental level.

• You can also be careful about the products you buy to discourage the spread of RFID technology at the product level.  If you discover an RFID chip on a product you buy, you can take it back.  Just make sure you tell the retailer why you are bringing it back to you send a message to their management that using RFID chips is not acceptable to their customers.

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A credit freeze takes your control over your credit report to the next level.  A fraud alert puts the responsibility to validate your credit with the lender and alerts them to a possible problem with your credit report.  A credit security freeze is a block on any business from accessing your credit for any reason.  This goes for a credit card company, an insurance company, a cell phone business or an employer running a background check on you.  Not all states grant you a right to a credit freeze.  But if you live in California, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Louisiana, Maine, Nevada, New Jersey, North Carolina, Texas, Vermont, or Washington, a credit freeze is part of your credit bill of rights.

A credit freeze restricts access to your credit reports entirely so a lender must get your permission to see your credit information.  This is a potent weapon against identity theft but it also can get in the way of you using your credit to open a new credit account.  How credit freezes work is different in each state that allows them.  There may be a fee and it may be up to you to prove that you need the credit freeze to protect yourself.  Here is a website where you can get more information about credit freeze laws.  http://www.equifax.com/popups/ec_pop_fcra_state_chart.html In addition, here are the contact details for each credit bureau to put a credit freeze in place.

When you request a credit freeze, you will need a number of things including…

• Your copy of the report you made to the police.
• Information about payments you have made
• Your address.
• When you were born.
• Your birth date.
• Proof of where you live.
• Your Social Security Number

Also, submit a letter requesting the credit report freeze.  Once you submit your information, each credit agency must take action within five working days.  Bear in mind that you will not be able to open any new credit accounts or get any new loans when the credit freeze is in place.  There are ways to go about lifting the freeze for one specific lender to get around this restriction.  You can find out how to do that using the information in this article to research credit freezes with each credit bureau.  There you can also learn how to go about removing the credit freeze.

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Fraud Alerts:  You Have a Right to Ask For a Fraud Alert

Anyone who has been victimized by identity theft is entitled to apply a fraud alert to your credit report.  You create a fraud alert with each of the three credit bureaus and it acts like a warning signal to lenders that your account may be enduring an identity theft attack.  When the creditor sees the alert, they know they must check with you personally before going forward with new credit activity.  A lender is required to confirm that any new credit when there is a fraud alert on your account.

Two kinds of fraud alerts exist.  One is an initial fraud alarm that is put on your account for 90 days.  If the problem goes on, you can extend that initial fraud alert for as long as seven years.  If you sustain a fraud alert for that long, you will be taken off of any marketing list for credit offers.  You also have a right to a free copy of all of your credit reports every twelve months when a fraud alert is in place.

Active members of the armed forces can set up a fraud alert for a full year.  These alerts are identity to the routine variety because it makes it the job of the credit agency to validate that any new credit request is really you.  This is a protection programmed into the system to protect military personnel if they are deployed on active duty.

A fraud alert can be set up with all three, you only have to get in touch with one CRA (credit reporting agency).  Here is the contact information for all three credit bureaus.

Credit Reports:  You Have a Right to a Free Copy

Once a year, you are entitled to contact any of the three credit agencies and ask for a free copy of your credit report.  This right is separate from your ability to get a free credit report each year from AnnualCreditReport.com.  You can find out more about getting your free credit report from any of the three credit agencies at their websites at:

• Equifax – https://www.econsumer.equifax.com/consumer/sitepage.ehtml?forward=elearning_credit14
• Experian – http://www.experian.com/consumer/credit_report_faqs.html#consumer_disclosure
• TransUnion – http://annualcreditreport.transunion.com/tu/disclosure/disclosure.jsp?

Asking for a fraud alert from any of these three agencies will immediately generate a free copy of a credit report from all three credit bureaus.  This is a legal right you have to help you protect your credit from identity theft.

Click here to see Part 2: Identity Theft Victim’s Bill of Rights: Your Credit Reports Part 2

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