While you’re protecting the country, who’s protecting your credit score? Unfortunately, when you’re unable to check your financials for signs of fraud, you may find yourself victim to identity theft. Luckily, those in the United States Armed Forces can place military active duty alerts on their account to help ensure their identity is protected. The following blog explores this option further and explains how a Los Angeles, California identity theft lawyer can help if your identity’s been compromised.
What Are Military Active Duty Alerts?
A military active duty alert is a fraud alert that those on active military duty can place on their accounts to help reduce the risk of fraud.
Unfortunately, those serving the country are a group often vulnerable to fraud for a number of reasons. Generally, these individuals are often deployed without access to bank statements and other financials, meaning they will not immediately notice signs of fraud. Similarly, those in the military often move due to the frequent restationing they experience. As such, they may be unable to spot the warning signs necessary to prevent identity theft.
It’s also important to understand that military members have a steady income, making them targets for criminals. Finally, due to the personal information collected by the United States on service members, you may find that data breaches at government agencies can have devastating effects due to the sensitive information collected.
How Do I Set One Up?
If you are a member of the military, you may wish to place an active duty alert on your account. Unfortunately, there is no way of knowing whether or not you will be deployed while serving. As such, it could be in your best interest to place an alert on your credit.
Placing an alert on your account is simple, as you’ll simply need to contact one of the credit bureaus to request the alert. Whichever agency you contact must inform the other two, and they will also place an alert on your account.
What Should I Do if I’m a Victim of Identity Theft in California?
If you are a member of the military and experience identity theft, it’s necessary to understand how to proceed. The first thing you should do is contact the Federal Trade Commission to report the fraud. Once you have completed a report, you must notify all three credit reporting agencies. Finally, you must contact the fraud department anywhere you have financial information.
When you’re the victim of identity theft, it can have lasting impacts. As such, it’s essential to understand that an attorney can help you remedy the issue. At LA Legal Solutions, our dedicated legal team will do everything possible to help you navigate these complex problems and recover from this violation. Contact us today to learn how we can help you.
