Tuesday, November 20, 2012

A call to action

Identity theft.  It's a scary thought and a very serious reality for many people.  We all know, as consumers, that we are at risk for this very real and very personal breach of security.  But it wasn't until my own encounter with identity theft that a much bigger problem was brought to my attention.

I'm unaware of exactly how criminals can obtain our personal information.  I am, however, under the impression that this is far easier to do than most of us even know.  I considered myself fairly diligent in monitoring my credit.  For example, the government requires that each of the credit reporting agencies permit you to request one free credit report every 12 months (you can do this by going to www.annualcreditreport.com).  And I did this annually.  I'd request my reports, print them out and review them carefully to be sure nothing seemed out of place.  This is all well and good, but what about the 364 days between now and when I can request my report again?  Of course, there are a million credit monitoring products out there.  I have no experience with any of them (pretty obvious statement given my recent problems), so that research is up to you.  But this call to action isn't really about the initial theft of ones identity.  My concern at this point is how retailers are handling the information provided to them on credit applications.

The call I received today was from the New Accounts Department at Target.  They were calling me to verify some information on the application I completed on Sunday for their Target Red Card.  While I will admit that I shop at Target on a regular basis, I knew for a fact that I wasn't there on Sunday and that I absolutely didn't apply for a credit card.  When I discovered the application was made in Oklahoma City, I knew my problem was a little bigger than I was prepared for.  I was informed that the application was flagged because the name on the application didn't exactly match the name on my credit report.  After several minutes of verifying that the thieves had all of my personal information (name, date of birth, address and social security number), I was told that Target had a copy of their driver's license and would provide it to police if it was requested.  A whole new set of concerns sunk in at that moment and I asked if the information on the driver's license was also mine.  Shockingly, the answer was no.

What?!?!  So, you're telling me that someone provided you with all of my personal information and, when asked for ID, they produced identification that had a different name, address and date of birth on it?!?  Yes, that was exactly what she was telling me.  She proceeded to explain that, just because the person's identification and credit application information don't match, that does not keep them from processing the application.  The ONLY reason this application was flagged as potentially fraudulent was because the dumb ass attempting to steal my identity had spelled my name wrong.

At this point, the only logical explanation I can come up with is that they are required to process all applications in order to avoid any kind of lawsuit suggesting that they might be prejudiced in any way.  But shouldn't this be common sense? 

When all is said and done with this entire matter, I can assure you that I will be writing a strongly worded letter to the fine people at Target to let them know my feelings on this issue.  Please don't get me wrong... it is highly unlikely that I will ever stop shopping there... I love Target.  My 'call to action' is not for a boycott of the store.  But I do think that changes need to be made in how they process credit applications.  By handling them this way, they are greatly increasing the risk of identity theft... and pissing off their loyal patrons for their stupidity.

Of course, this begs the bigger question... how many other retailers handle credit applications in this manner?  You'd better believe I'll be doing my research to find out whether this is a nationwide standard or if it is only certain retailers.  And if this is simply the standard set by the industry, I can assure you that the fine people who make our laws and set our regulations will be getting a few letters from me as well.

So my call to action is this: Do your research, know how the system works and, if you find other retailers that handle these things in this manner, please speak up, write a letter and let these establishments know that, as well-informed consumers, we don't appreciate their lack of due diligence when it comes to matters related to identity theft.

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