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The Akron Beacon Journal Betty Lin-Fisher column [The Akron Beacon Journal :: ](Akron Beacon Journal (OH) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) April 19--A reader's experience trying to get access to free credit reports and having trouble answering what he called "off-the-wall" questions offered an interesting look into proving your identity. We often talk about people who steal our identity, so this is different because someone could not prove he really was entitled to the credit reports. Consumers are entitled to a free credit report from each of the three credit bureaus once a year. Go online to www.annualcreditreport.com or call 877-322-8228. If you are seeking new credit soon, it'd be a good idea to get all three reports for yourself (and spouse) at once. But if you are just doing a checkup, you can space the reports out every four months. The reader would rather not be identified for privacy reasons. He was trying to answer security questions for online access to his reports, but was locked out. He wondered what kind of information the credit bureaus were using for identifiers. He had problems with questions for all three of the bureaus, but especially with Equifax. One question asked about a loan for a truck in 2007 -- wanting to know the lender and the approximate amount. But he hadn't taken out an auto loan in more than 20 years. In 2007, he did co-sign an apartment lease with his son, but didn't think that was the answer the system wanted. Another question asked about another loan for a mortgage. When none of the answers worked, he decided to answer that his nephew had taken out a loan. He was not involved with that loan, but his nephew used him as a reference. He believes the system saw that as the right answer. The reader said he and his wife have been caregivers with power of attorney for various family members, and it seemed that at least one question reflected their caregiving activities. Eventually, the reader got through for all three credit reports, "but only after trying again and giving them the answers they seemed to want. My wife got through on only one bureau and she received hard copies from the other two." Once he got the reports, nothing looked wrong. Meredith Griffanti, a spokeswoman for Equifax, would not go into details about security measures to prevent identity theft, but sent me some information. Equifax and other credit reporting agencies "each have developed their own unique controls and methods of authenticating consumers requesting access to their annual free credit report," she said. "Each authentication process is proprietary and is not publicly disclosed; knowledge of the exact matching/authentication process would aid thieves ... " Some credit bureaus use "knowledge-based authentication," which relies on questions based on personal information a consumer would know, such as "what high school you graduated from" or "name of first pet." But that information is often easily found by an identity thief from sites such as Facebook or other methods. A mixture of knowledge-based questions and information from documents is more difficult for someone to fake, she said. "Authentication processes may include 'bogus' knowledge-based authentication or credit history-based questions," Griffanti said, meaning the answer is "none of the above." "Equifax recognizes that not every consumer will be able to successfully authenticate their identity online, either because they do not remember certain information or because there is not sufficient data to create appropriate questions," Griffanti said. Consumers who have issues online may call to request a hard copy. Griffanti said the report is only mailed to the address on file on the consumer's report. I usually access my credit reports online, but for this column, I phoned asking for one report. I was not asked any security questions from my report and it was a bit labor-intensive to get through the automated system, but it was do-able. I was asked for my Social Security number and other relatively easy information, such as my house number. I was also given the option to hide most of the digits of my Social Security number (except for the last four). Shredding events Area Better Business Bureaus are working with sponsors to offer free shredding events Saturday. In Summit County, the BBB and Neoshred will host an event from 9 a.m. to noon. NeoShred is at 895 E. Tallmadge Ave. in Akron. There is a limit of 10 boxes or bags. In Stark County, the BBB and Huntington is having an event from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Downtown Ford's Auction Lot at 1423 Tuscarawas St. W. in Canton (across from Downtown Ford's showroom off I-77). Enter off Schroyer and exit onto Tuscarawas West. The Stark BBB also will be collecting old electronics to e-cycle. Items allowed are: batteries, cable, CDs, cellphones, circuit boards, computers, consumer electronics, game consoles, ink and toner cartridges, IT equipment, keyboards, laptops, mice, modems, monitors, MP3 players, network equipment, phone systems, printers, routers, satellite boxes, servers, speakers, switches, telecom equipment, video games and wire. Betty Lin-Fisher can be reached at 330-996-3724 or [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter at www.twitter.com/blinfisher and see all her stories at www.ohio.com/betty ___ (c)2014 the Akron Beacon Journal (Akron, Ohio) Visit the Akron Beacon Journal (Akron, Ohio) at www.ohio.com Distributed by MCT Information Services |