Archive for January, 2012

Imagine waking up one morning and checking your bank account balance online, as you routinely do, only to find a large negative balance. Frantic, you immediately delve into a transaction history to see what could have possibly happened only to find several large, unexplained debits that have completely drained your entire account. How will you make your mortgage payment or pay the monthly bills? Put food on the table? The sudden shock sinks in as you realize the likely scenario: you have fallen victim to one of the most prevalent crime epidemics sweeping the country.

With our world so largely dependent on the digital transfer of sensitive financial information, identity theft is growing at an increasingly alarming rate. If you have ever been the victim of a scenario such as this, you know the emotional pain, time and financial toll that can be involved in repairing the destruction caused by this criminal activity. In many cases, by the time it is even discovered there is already significant damage to the victim’s credit report. In some cases, similar to the one described above, bank accounts have been depleted, which causes legitimate checks and debits to not clear.

According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), as many as 9,000,000 Americans have their identity stolen each year. Of these people, estimates show that most do not have a formal identity protection plan in place prior to the fraud. Although there are five general categories of identity theft, the most common form we see is financial. As a mortgage planner who reviews many credit reports each day, I have seen many cases where a person’s identity has been compromised and credit is obtained in their name without their consent. If the theft is not discovered until they need their credit to make a purchase, they may find themselves in a position where they are unable to qualify for new credit until the fraudulent activity is cleared up. In some cases, it can take years to fix all of the damage and clean up the credit report.

If you learn you are a victim of identity theft, the FTC suggests doing the following steps: (for more information visit their website at www.ftc.gov)

1. Place a fraud alert on your credit and review your credit reports.
2. Close the accounts that you know, or believe, have been tampered with or opened.
3. File a complaint with the FTC. You can reach the FTC Identity Theft Hotline at 1-877-ID-THEFT.
4. File a report with your local police or the police in the community were the identity theft took place.

If someone steals your identity to buy goods and services, the sooner the fraud is discovered the less time it will take to prevent further fraud and repair the damage. One of the services we provide at no cost is Identity Theft Protection Monitoring. As part of this service, we will check your credit and review the report with you each year to ensure there is not any unauthorized transactions. If there is fraud discovered, we will help you begin the process of repair. If you want additional protection, people in our program can receive a discounted membership with LifeLock. They will provide additional monitoring and protection that can help ensure you are not a victim of identity theft in the first place. To begin the process of protecting your identity, call my office at 801-501-7950 to sign up for the free service or e-mail me at mike@citycreekmortgage.com.

Is the winter weather taking a toll on your hands and feet? Win a free manicure and pedicure from City Creek Mortgage! To enter, like us on Facebook and answer the question: “WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE WAY TO PAMPER YOURSELF?”

And the winner of the car wash is…….Rosie Skinner!!!!

Be sure to tell your family and friends about our weekly prizes and keep entering because there is no limit to how often you can win!

Rosie: Please call City Creek Mortgage at 801.501.7950 within 5 days to claim your prize.

Win a free Super Sonic full service car wash from City Creek Mortgage! To enter, like us on Facebook and answer the question: “What is your dream car?”

And the winner the 4 movie tickets is……Randy Cochrane!!!!

Be sure to tell your family and friends about our weekly prizes and keep entering because there is no limit to how often you can win!

Randy: Please call City Creek Mortgage at 801.501.7950 within 5 days to claim your prize.