Lemon car, SUV, truck, RV, motor home chassis problems in Virginia? Contact the attorney who wrote Virginia's Lemon Laws for an accurate consultation for the fastest way to resolve your lemon law claim.

You think you have a Lemon?
»Click Here

Quick Contact

Name:

Phone:

Email:

Tell us more:


The Consumer Law Group, P.C.
1801 Libbie Avenue, Ste. 202
Richmond, Va. 23226

Phone: 804-282-7900

News

more >

Library

more >

Case Results

more >

Car Lemon

A resource to find a lemon law attorney in another state or your state's lemon laws, FAQ's, or Hot Lemon Tips www.lemonlawoffice.com

Lemon Law America

Credit Fraud & Identity Theft

Banking convenience: making credit fraud convenient as well

Convenience defines our times. As the technology age has bloomed, U.S. consumers have experienced this more and more, particularly in the many ways consumers can spend money today. In the banking and finance industries, going to the bank is now just one alternative, and rarely a necessity. Financial institutions have spent many millions in the past 10 years to implement automated systems that allow their customers to bank and borrow remotely and securely. Through the use of increasingly “smart” credit cards, debit cards, ATM cards and other forms of electronic commerce and transactions, most of us have 24 hour access to our money, without ever requiring any personal contact with our banks, credit unions or other financial institutions.

But in this new era of online purchases, ATMs and auto-debits, the question remains -- who else has access to our money? Last November, more than 30,000 consumers across the nation discovered that in Bay Shore, New York, a young man working at the help desk of a credit technology company had enough access to their confidential financial records to collectively cost them in excess of $4 million. With easy access to the major credit reporting agencies, the man was able to generate credit reports of random consumers and then sell them to criminals, who would exploit the information to perpetrate credit card fraud and identity theft. Beyond the millions of dollars lost, thousands of these consumers went through the fear and uncertainty of losing control of their financial lives to identity theft. With their social security numbers, credit card numbers and other vital financial information unknowingly in the hands of career criminals, the financial status of many consumers was damaged or ruined. Investigation into the full extent of the damage caused by this massive case of credit fraud is expected to go on for several years.

Credit fraud in Virginia: increasingly an insider’s job

While incidents of credit fraud on the scale of the help desk employee case are rare, individual cases of credit card fraud and other forms of credit fraud happen on a daily basis. Increasingly, the culprits are not the traditional thief, purse snatcher or pick pocket, but a banking insider working either as an employee or a contractor for a financial institution. This insider will take secure information about banking customers and then either use that information for his own gain or sell that information to criminals who proceed to drain a victim’s finances as quickly and completely as possible. These criminals are good at what they do, and often have the ability to delay detection for weeks and months before a consumer becomes aware that they are credit fraud victims.

The blame for these types of credit fraud incidents often involves not only the bank employee, but the bank or financial institution itself. Above all other purposes, a bank is there to ensure that your money is secure. When banking security cannot keep up with criminal cunning and a bank employee violates a consumer’s trust through illegal activity, the consumer needs an attorney to seek legal recourse and financial compensation against the responsible parties whose security lapses allowed this to happen.

The Consumer Law Group offers legal representation and assistance to victims of credit fraud, credit card fraud, identity theft and other types of consumer fraud. We help our credit fraud clients cope with the difficult aftermath of credit fraud, and offer guidance and support in helping you get your credit and good name on two feet again. Contact us today.

You can read more about how to obtain credit report information and review frequently asked questions about your credit standing. We also provide links to sites that provide helpful tips on the latest Internet scams (dot-cons) and how to protect and maintain your consumer rights through the Federal Trade Commission FTC.

The FTC works for the consumer to prevent fraudulent, deceptive and unfair business practices in the marketplace and to provide information to help consumers spot, stop and avoid them. To file a complaint or to get free information on consumer issues, visit www.ftc.gov or call toll-free, 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357); TTY: 1-866-653-4261. The FTC enters Internet, telemarketing, identity theft and other fraud-related complaints into Consumer Sentinel, a secure, online database available to hundreds of civil and criminal law enforcement agencies in the U.S. and abroad.

To order copies of your credit reports, write to each of the following Consumer Reporting Agencies:

Experian
Post Office Box 2002
Allen, TX 75013
(800) 583-4080
(888) 397-3742
www.experian.com

Trans Union Corporation
Post Office Box 2000
Chester, PA 19022-2000
(800) 888-4213
www.transunion.com

Equifax Credit Information
Post Office Box 740241
Atlanta, GA 30374
(800) 685-1111
(888) 873-5392
www.equifax.com

Library for Credit Fraud & Identity Theft:

Frequent Questions for Credit Fraud & Identity Theft:

Web Resources for Credit Fraud & Identity Theft:

  • Annual Credit Report

    Description: The official Web site to distribute a free yearly credit report from each of the three major credit-reporting bureaus.

  • CSC CREDIT SERVICES

    Description: P.O. Box 674402
    Houston, TX 77267-4402
    (800) 759-5979
    FEE: $9.00 ($3.00 for MN residents)

  • EQUIFAX CREDIT INFORMATION SERVICES

    Description: P.O. Box 105873
    Atlanta, GA 30348
    (800) 685-1111
    FEE: $9.00 ($3.00 for MN residents)

  • EXPERIAN

    Description: P.O. Box 9595
    Allen, TX 75013
    (800) 583-4080
    FEE: $9.00 ($3.00 for MN residents)

  • Free Annual Credit Report

    Description: This is a central site that allows you to request a free credit report once every 12 months from each of the nationwide consumer credit reporting companies: Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion.

  • Pittsburgh Premiere of Maxed Out the Movie

    Description: Maxed Out shows how the modern financial industry really works, explains the true definition of "preferred customer" and tells us why the poor are getting poorer and the rich getting richer. By turns hilarious and profoundly disturbing, Maxed Out paints a picture of a national nightmare which is all too real for most of us!!

  • TRANS UNION CORPORATION

    Description: Consumer Relations Center
    P.O. Box 1000
    Chester, PA 19016-1000
    (800) 888-4213
    FEE: $9.00 ($3.00 for MN residents)

Back to Top
©2008 The Consumer Law Group, P.C., All Rights Reserved, Reproduced with Permission
Website Design for Attorneys, Search Engine Optimization, Optimized Video Services for Lawyers and Update Your Website Yourself
by Foster Web Marketing - The Best Attorney Website Design & Hosting Firm