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Politics : WAR on Terror. Will it engulf the Entire Middle East? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Scoobah who wrote (12882)	2/19/2006 4:24:00 PM
From: Rarebird	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 32591

>>Credit cards tell big brother (and any marketing company or hacker) everything they want to know about you and your family<< In the early 1990's, I fell prey to what is called today, "identity theft". I was accused of spending and never paying back well over 5 figures in merchandise from an S@P 500 company's place of business somewhere in Texas. Now I've never been to Texas in my life so when the credit company began calling my house in NYC, looking to make a deal, on all that merchandise I never bought, I was completely shocked, to say the least. How did I handle it? Very simple and easy. I ripped all the phone lines out of my house and everyone in my family got a cell phone. I did this fairly quickly. More importantly, I instructed my wife and kids never to give out their phone numbers to any financial institution, company, or stranger. I rented a remote voicemail number (for $15 a month) which served as our home number. I had no choice but to do this. Dialogue broke down instantly. US companies sell their debt for pennies on the dollar to these credit companies who call every day and night, to make a deal. They are ruthless. They had no interest in taking me to court. All they wanted was $$$. The 3 major credit agencies had this phony transaction on my credit report. All my mortgages were paid off and the credit card companies still held me in the highest regard since I always paid my bill in full each month. I never was denied credit in any shape or form during this time. It took about 7 years to get that off my credit report. My brother, who is an attorney, investigated the situation and told me that my identity was stolen. We still just use cell phones today and never give out our numbers to any financial institution or company. <<Better to pay cash when possible<< No. It's better to get back a few hundred dollars a year. PS When I can't charge it on my credit card, I pay electronically, via Online Banking.