Mad as a Hatter

Quick URL to share with those of you who are in the US and who are concerned about some of the things the current administration has done in the name of combating terrorism. Amnesty International's US branch is running a campaign. Go, see what you think, see if there's something you'd like to do. At the least (what I've managed so far), you can pass the link on.

http://86days.amnestyusa.org

There's also a petition to close Guantánamo Bay:

93000

(Just signed up. W00t! I'm #93,000!)

(Though, in truth, I'm not certain how much that'd really accomplish. But it'd be a step in the right direction. As long as they didn't just move everyone to another, more secret location... *sigh*)

A family friend just discovered that someone stole his SSN and has been using it for the last four years. In looking into how to help him, I ran across AnnualCreditReport.com

Now, if you're in the US, you've probably heard all those ads for freecreditreport.com. That gives you a free credit report... if you enroll in their fraud protection program. There are a few other companies that do the same.

This site is the official one maintained by the three credit reporting companies in the US - Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. Once every 12 months, you can log on to the site and get a free look at your credit report. They don't give you your credit score (that's $8 extra), but they do let you check everything over to see what's been reported about you. You can check for fraud, identity theft, reporting errors, etc. You can even see who's been looking at your report (most likely a whole lot of credit card companies getting a brief overview to see what kind of junk mail offers they'd like to send you).

You'll have to give them some personal information - name, address, SSN, possibly some account numbers - but it's okay. The sites check out clean and secure. These are the credit reporting companies. They have all that information already. Collecting it is their whole reason for existing. They're asking you to fill it in purely for identity verification, since your full credit report includes all of your debt accounts (credit cards, bank loans, mortgages, collection agencies, etc.).

A couple of things to note:

They'll ask for your email address. You don't have to give it to them if you don't want to. If you do, they'll send you a reminder when 12 months are up (so you can check your report again) and send a couple of offers to enroll in credit protection programs.

As mentioned, you have the option to get your credit score (which may vary from company to company). It costs about $8. You don't have to if you don't want to, so keep an eye out for the option to skip or say "no thanks." However, it may well be worth it, especially if you've never seen yours. It's a small one-time fee, and it can be handy/nice to know where you stack up.

To verify your identity, they'll sometimes ask multiple choice questions about accounts you may or may not have had. Don't let it confuse you. If you don't have the account they're asking about, click the option for "None Of These."

So go take a look. It's free, takes about 10 minutes, and could help you avoid some major problems.