To continue to provide top-quality resources for consumers, Equifax is launching IdentityProtection.com. The site will feature educational resources and tools, as well as stories from victims of child identity theft, medical identity theft, and tax identity theft.

With this website, consumers will learn how to help protect their identities and the identities of their children with helpful information such as precautions to take when filing their taxes, signing their kids up for after-school activities, filling out medical forms, and creating passwords online.

“Identity theft is an increasingly pervasive problem, particularly in today’s digital economy,” said Trey Loughran, president of the Personal Solutions unit at Equifax. “This new website will be a rich resource for people who want not only to educate themselves about the problem but also to take steps to help protect themselves and their families. Consumers who are armed with useful knowledge and tools can be a powerful deterrent to the rapid growth of this ‘invisible’ crime.”

Visit IdentityProtection.com to learn more about this new resource.

Identity Theft Protection and Warning Signs
Keep yourself safe while shopping online
Eight steps to prevent taxidentity theft
Monitor your credit report for identity theft red flags
Protect your family from identity theft
6 ways to prevent identity theft
Avoid identity theft: Get in the habit of protecting your personal information

Causes of Identity Theft
Top causes of identity theft? Not the Internet—yet
Becoming a victim of identity theft: How it happens

Tools for Preventing Identity Theft
Resources for victims of fraud and identity theft
New tool to help Consumers protect online information
Fraud alert versus security freeze
Identity theft: Can fraud alert protect you?

Children and Identity Theft
Child identity theft: The invisible crime
Protect your family from identity theft
Child identity theft and tax fraud: What you need to know
Identity thieves use children’s information to commit tax fraud
Fighting child identity theft with education and awareness
What to do if your child is a victim of identity theft
Protecting the innocent: The basics of child identity theft

Help for Victims of Identity Theft
What to do if you’re the victim of identity theft
Identity theft: What to do if your wallet is lost or stolen
Identity theft: What to do if you’re a victim
Identity theft: Dealing with a data breach

Q: Why does a lender see a different credit score than what’s on my Equifax credit report?

A: A lender may be seeing a different credit score than what you will find on your Equifax credit report because another credit score model is being used.

For example, Equifax calculates your Equifax Credit Score using information from all three nationwide credit reporting agencies. Other companies may calculate your score using different metrics. While some lenders use blended scores from the three credit reporting agencies, others apply industry-weighted scores.

Keep in mind that your credit score isn’t static and could change every day as credit grantors, collection agencies, and public records report data.

If your lender calculates a score that is very different from your Equifax Credit Score, consider showing your lender a recent copy of the score Equifax has reported. Then you can compare the inconsistencies and determine if any information is incorrect.

Q: Why is my credit score different among the three nationwide credit reporting agencies?

A: If you are pulling your credit report and score from each of the three credit reporting agencies and find that your scores aren’t exactly the same, it’s not a cause for alarm. There are multiple reasons why your credit score may differ.

If you access scores from all of the agencies at the same time, a score difference is normally due to the credit file data at each of the agencies. Not all creditors report to all three agencies, so some credit lines might not appear on all three reports.

Your credit report and score can also change daily, depending on your credit activity level. This could be the result of a balance increase or decrease, a new inquiry, or a new credit line.

When comparing your credit report from the three agencies, make sure that the personal information on each is correct and that all of the listed accounts and balances belong to you. Any incorrect information could alter your score.

Q: How do I dispute an error in my credit report?

A: It’s a smart idea to periodically check on your credit report because any erroneous information could affect your credit score. Remember that you are entitled to one free credit report every year from each of the three credit reporting agencies through annualcreditreport.com. You can also request your credit score for a nominal fee when you access your credit report.

If you have been a victim of identity theft or if a creditor has mistakenly reported your account as delinquent, it could affect your credit score. If the incorrect information causes your credit score to drop, it could be difficult for you to get credit at a better rate.

If you find inaccurate information in your credit file, directly contact the credit reporting agency posting the error and file a free dispute. At Equifax, you can file your dispute by Internet, phone, or mail. You will find step-by-step instructions for how to start an investigation into your credit report here.

If you have spotted erroneous information in your credit report from one of the three nationwide credit reporting agencies, consider ordering your credit file from the other two in order to check for the same mistake. You can find both Experian and TransUnion online.

The credit reporting agencies are mandated to investigate all disputes within 35 to 45 days after you have submitted your complaint. At this time, the credit reporting agency will contact you with your outcome—by mail if you submitted by mail or through email updates if you selected that option.

The credit reporting agency can update the status of the disputed information—which could include telling you that the furnisher of the information confirmed that it was reporting correctly—or delete the item altogether. If the agency finds no mistake in your file, the information will remain, but you have the option of adding a statement of explanation.

When you correct an error with one credit reporting agency, the two other agencies should also receive the updated information. To make sure that your information is quickly corrected across agencies, though, you should dispute the error directly with each one.

Over the next few weeks, we’ll be answering some of your most frequently asked credit questions. We hope that this discussion will increase your understanding of how the credit reporting process works.

Q: How long will a late payment remain on my credit report?

A: Consumers are often concerned about how late payments and other negative information, like bankruptcies and judgments, will impact their credit history and score.

In general, negative information that is more than seven years old from the date of last activity will be removed from your credit report. For bankruptcies, though, the time frame is normally 10 years from the date of last activity.

The on-time payment of your credit card bills or your mortgage, known as positive information, can remain on your credit history forever.

Remember that the information in your credit report does not come from the credit reporting agencies. Instead, credit reporting agencies compile the information that lenders, collection agencies, and public records report to them, and then they record it in your credit report.

If you’re concerned about how long information will remain on your credit history, it might be a good time to review your credit report. When you review your report, confirm that all of your information is correct and accurately reflects your financial history.

Check out a complete breakdown of how long credit accounts, collection accounts, public records, inquiries, and bankruptcy remain in your credit history.

Q: How are early payments factored into my credit score?

A: Early payments are factored into your score just like on-time payments. They are considered positive information on your credit report.

Learn more about how your credit score is calculated.

Updated May 7, 2013: IdentityProtection.com, a new website powered by Equifax, takes an in-depth look at each of the top 10 states for identity theft, examining state and metro area statistics, examples of widespread fraud, potential reasons residents of these states are at risk and local efforts to curb identity theft.

Trey Loughran, president of the Personal Solutions division at Equifax, said education is the key to helping consumers understand their risk and protect their identities. “Consumers can reduce the risk to themselves and their families by being vigilant and proactive to safeguard their personal information,” he said. “By analyzing the states and cities that have been hardest hit by identity theft, we can better understand the crime and help consumers protect themselves.”

Learn more about the Top 10 States for Identity Theft—and how you can protect yourself—by visiting IdentityProtection.com.

You might have seen recent news about data breaches and identity theft, and one of Hollywood’s latest comedy flicks is centered around this fast-growing crime. But the buzz surrounding identity theft isn’t the result of media hype or Hollywood fiction.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) received a record two million consumer complaints in 2012; identity theft accounted for 18 percent of all complaints, up from 15 percent in 2011.

According to the FTC’s 2012 annual report of complaints, identity theft was the number one complaint category for the 13th consecutive year, with 369,132 complaints.

Government documents or benefits fraud was the most common type of identity theft reported, representing 46 percent of all identity theft complaints, with a 27 percent increase from 2010. Tax- or wage-related fraud was the most common complaint within this category, reported by more than 43 percent of identity theft victims last year.

“The IRS is really where identity theft is making a big hit,” says Norm Magnuson, vice president of public affairs for the Consumer Data Industry Association.

Credit card identity theft, however, has trended downward over the last few years, and out of 30 consumer complaint categories, complaints related to credit cards or credit bureaus rank at 10 and 19, respectively.

“I think lenders are making better use of fraud-prevention tools,” Magnuson says. “I think the industry on the credit card side has done a pretty good job of educating consumers on identity theft and ways to prevent it.”

Magnuson says direct consumer products offered by the three nationwide credit reporting agencies could have also helped to reduce credit card fraud by allowing individuals to more effectively monitor their credit reports.

More than one million of the FTC’s 2012 complaints, or 52 percent, were related to fraud. This reportedly cost the complainants more than $1.4 billion total. The median sum paid by fraud victims was $535.

Of the fraud victims who indicated how they were initially contacted, the majority said they were reached by either email (38 percent) or phone (34 percent). Twelve percent were contacted on the Internet, and 9 percent were contacted by mail.

Florida topped the list of states with the highest per capita rate of reported identity theft complaints last year, followed by Georgia and California. Florida and Georgia are also the states with the highest per capita rate of reported fraud and other types of complaints, with Maryland in third.

If you want to submit a consumer complaint to the FTC, you can do so online or by phone at 1-877-382-4357.

Credit reporting agencies have a very simple but challenging goal with regard to accuracy of consumer credit files: we want perfection. It is important that our data is accurate, so that lenders can make a more accurate assessment of consumer risk.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) looked at the issue of credit accuracy last December and reported that between 1.3% and 3.9% of consumers disputed information in their credit report. Another recent study by the Policy and Economic Research Council (PERC) concluded that only 0.5 percent found an error that would cause the consumer to move to a higher risk category and possibly pay a higher interest rate. Even the recently released Federal Trade Commission study – which used “coaches” to help consumers find errors — said that only 2.2 percent of reports had an error which potentially could have a meaningful impact on the consumer’s score.

Studies show that when there is an error and consumers use the dispute process, they are satisfied with the outcome 95 percent of the time. We resolve three out of four disputes within 14 days – less than half the time required by law. And we’re instituting a new process that will reduce the dispute processing time dramatically – in some instances by up to 50 percent.

Incorrect data makes its way into our database for many reasons. When a consumer disputes a report, the first thing we do is to ask whoever furnished the data in the first place to verify it. In 2012, data furnishers responded to our verification requests in 8.5 days on average. (Legally they have 30 days to respond.) To speed this up even more, we’re upgrading our processing system to let us transmit the disputed consumer document images to the data furnishers rather than the current method of forwarding the dispute request, which triggers a process with the data furnisher to look up the necessary documents.

Over the past year, about 60 percent of these reinvestigated disputes were closed when the data furnisher verified the information in question was accurate. In 40 percent of the cases, Equifax modified or deleted data in a consumer’s credit file. In 36 percent data was modified or deleted as a result of the reinvestigation. The remaining four percent of modifications or deletions were a result of the data furnishers failing to respond in the legally mandated response window.

Our goal is perfection – we want to ensure that every consumer’s credit file is accurate. For that to happen, all parties – data furnishers, consumers, government agencies and the CRAs – have a responsibility and need to work together.

The IRS has reported a significant increase in the number of fraudulent tax returns filed, with 641,690 tax-related identity theft incidents from the first nine months of 2012, up from 242,142 total incidents in 2011 and 47,730 from 2008.

Tax identity theft occurs when an offender falsifies tax returns to get someone else’s refund check. Sometimes all it takes is a stolen Social Security number and a fake address. Victims don’t realize their refunds have been stolen until the IRS denies them their legitimate refund check.

“The best defense against identity theft of any kind is to be vigilant in the protection of your personal information,” said Trey Loughran, president of the Personal Solutions unit at Equifax.

“It can take many months for a victim of tax identity theft to finally get his or her rightfully owed refund check.”

Here are eight steps you can take to lessen your risk of becoming a victim of tax identity theft:

1. Protect your personal information by keeping important documents, like your birth certificate and Social Security and Medicare cards, in a safe place. Only carry these documents with you when it’s necessary.

2. File your tax return as soon as possible during tax season. If you file with the IRS first, the thief will be denied when trying to use your Social Security number for a fake return.

3. If you file your taxes by mail, take your tax return to the post office. Do not leave it in your mailbox, where it can be easily stolen.

4. Check with the Better Business Bureau to make sure your tax report is being prepared by a reputable business.

5. If you wouldn’t normally file a tax return, for example if you are a full-time student with no income, be wary of anyone who offers to prepare your taxes so you can receive a refund or “free money.”

6. Never sign a blank form that someone else will complete for you.

7. Watch out for scams. Remember that the IRS will never contact you through any form of electronic communication, like email, to ask for your personal information.

8. Check your credit report regularly. If your personal information has been compromised for tax fraud, identity thieves can also use it to commit other types of identity fraud, like opening credit card accounts in your name. You can request a free credit report each year from all three credit reporting agencies at www.annualcreditreport.com.

If the IRS denies your tax return because you have become a victim of identity theft, you can still get your tax return. File a report with the police, followed by the IRS Identity Protection Specialized Unit at 1-800-908-4490. Also sign an identity theft affidavit.

The number of Americans with subprime credit scores – generally considered scores below 620 – has been shrinking across the country, but the trend is playing out differently throughout the nation’s largest metro areas.

Of the 25 largest U.S. metro areas, 24 saw decreases in the number of subprime borrowers over last year, a welcome change during a time when lending standards have tightened across the board. Throughout the nation, the total number of consumers with credit scores below 620 fell 2.1 percent, or by about 1 million consumers, in the third quarter of 2012 versus the third quarter of 2011.

“We are seeing a trend of consumers being careful and disciplined about their use of existing credit while also being cautious about using new accounts they have opened,” said Trey Loughran, president of the personal solutions division at Equifax.

Though the average credit score has remained relatively stable throughout the recession, the number of subprime consumers has grown over the past five years, as Americans lost their jobs or homes and struggled to make payments on time, if at all.

But the slow-moving recovery, including improvements in the job market, has helped many people improve their credit history and inch past the 620 mark.

The 620 score is often considered the benchmark score for subprime consumers, though typically lenders and banks have their own standards. Someone with a credit score below 620 likely will have a harder time securing credit, particularly a mortgage, and may pay a higher interest rate, if they can secure a loan.

Chicago, despite its sputtering housing market, has seen the largest decline in consumers with credit scores below 620. The Chicago-Gary-Kenosha metro area saw a 9 percent reduction in subprime consumers, dropping from nearly 1.7 million people in the third quarter of 2011 to a little more than 1.5 million in the third quarter of 2012.

Houston, on the other hand, was the only city that saw its population of subprime consumers increase—by just .6 percent.

The credit score differences between geographical areas can be attributed to a number of factors, including employment, population shifts and demographic changes. In Chicago, the unemployment rate declined 1.5 percentage points to 8.8 percent—the fifth best improvement in unemployment among the largest 25 metro areas. Overall population also declined in the area, and the improvement in credit scores might be attributable in part to migration of unemployed people out of the area. The Houston area, however, saw a population increase.

Behind Chicago, California saw large decreases in the number of subprime borrowers. The San Francisco and Oakland area saw a 6.4 percent decrease of subprime consumers, while Sacramento saw a 6.2 percent decrease, followed by San Diego and Los Angeles which both had 5.3 percent decreases.

There have also been significant improvements in other early housing-bust markets such as Las Vegas, Phoenix and Miami, where people’s credit scores are starting to recover after foreclosures.

Your online activity could leave a trail of breadcrumbs about your personal and financial information. Technology advances have made it possible for companies to put together a detailed profile on you that can be sold, repackaged and sold again. If your name, age, address, income, personal family and financial information appear on the internet, you’re at risk of ad tracking, identity theft, and even stalking.

Equifax® announced today that Reputation.com’s online personal data monitoring and removal technology will be offered with Equifax’s subscription-based credit monitoring and identity theft protection products.

“Equifax is committed to empowering consumers with information and tools to be their financial best,” said Trey Loughran, president of Equifax Personal Solutions. “By incorporating Reputation.com’s privacy monitoring capabilities, we are enabling consumers to better monitor and manage a broader scope of their online personal information as a natural extension of our product set.”

As consumers are learning more about how social networking sites and search engines are using their personal information, they are uncomfortable with how their data could potentially be shared with advertisers. Personally identifiable information can also be an open door for hackers and identity thieves.

Identity theft can have a catastrophic impact on individuals and the ripple effect can touch their families, livelihood, sense of security, etc. The FTC reports that identity theft has been the number one consumer complaint for the last several years.

As identity theft continues to be a growing problem, it’s important to guard your online reputation as closely as you do your wallet and credit cards.

Reputation.com will provide Equifax ID Patrol ™and Equifax Complete™ Advantage subscribers with ongoing monitoring and real-time alerts when personally identifiable information is at risk online. Additionally, for Equifax Complete™ Premier and Equifax Complete™ Family Plan members, Reputation.com will remove this sensitive information from the web at the customers’ request.

“So much about each of us is revealed online – and these digital breadcrumbs add up to vulnerability for consumers,” said Michael Fertik, founder and CEO of Reputation.com. “Your online identity is worth protecting and we’re proud to partner with Equifax, a recognized leader in consumer empowerment, to identify and safeguard individuals’ sensitive information.”

To learn more about Equifax’s product offerings and how the partnership with Reputation.com can help you protect your online personal information, visit Equifax.com.

Overall consumer debt fell by 2.28 percent in the third quarter of the year versus the same period a year ago, marking a $256 billion drop over the last year. U.S. consumers owe a little less than $11 trillion in total debt, with mortgage debt accounting for slightly more than three-quarters of that amount.

The drop in debt reflects a rise in what Trey Loughran, president of the Personal Solutions unit at Equifax, calls the “disciplined consumer”—a borrower who is more disciplined in taking on new debt and is careful about how he or she manages pre-existing credit.

“Generally speaking, consumers are showing discipline and caution about debt coming out of the recession,” Loughran said. “Even though people are taking on debt to get new automobiles, we also know they are driving their cars longer. We expect the trend of the ‘disciplined consumer’ to continue for some time.”

Of the overall debt, non-mortgage consumer debt increased 0.7 percent, due largely to continual increases in auto financing. Auto debt rose 7.1 percent nationally over last year and is one of the few areas where spending has recently increased.

On the other hand, mortgage debt dropped 3.4 percent. While the decrease in mortgage debt may be due to Americans consistently paying off their mortgages, mortgage debt also gets written off after foreclosures, dropping total consumer debt.

Differences in consumer debt seen across the United States

While debt decreased overall nationwide, consumer debt increased in three cities over last year. In the Houston area, debt climbed 1.37 percent; in Pittsburgh, it increased 1.05 percent; and in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, debt grew 0.08 percent.

The recession has affected portions of the country differently, with unemployment figures varying city by city and foreclosure rates changing dramatically state to state. Residents of states hit particularly hard by the recession—California, Florida, Nevada, and Arizona—have been more cautious about taking on new debt and have been more regularly paying off their debt.

The largest declines in consumer debt were in the Las Vegas, Miami-Fort Lauderdale, Sacramento-Yolo, and Phoenix-Mesa markets—all areas that had some of the highest foreclosure rates amid the recession.

After the holidays, it’s possible that the last quarter of the year will see higher consumer debt than previous quarters—typically consumers rack up some temporary debt during the last part of the year. Whether the overall trend will continue to decrease year over year remains to be seen.

Q: How will a loan forbearance plan affect my credit score?

A: Because your credit score is based on the elements contained within your credit file, any impact a payment plan might have on your credit score is dependent on your overall credit history. You should obtain a free copy of your credit reports from the three nationwide credit reporting agencies (CRAs) at annualcreditreport.com or directly from any of the CRA websites. You will be given the opportunity to purchase your score after you’ve received your free annual credit report. Once you have validated the accuracy of the information contained in your credit report, you can also add a consumer statement explaining the issues surrounding the forbearance plan.

Q: If an account is closed with no activity, how can there be recent activity posted on the credit summary?

A: There can be recent activity reported on an inactive closed account if the creditor recently reported activity such as changing the report date or the date of last activity of the account, etc. You should contact the creditor to determine what changed on the inactive account.

Q: How can I dispute credit score changes?

A: Your credit score is determined based on information within your credit file. You can dispute any inaccuracies on your credit report at any time by visiting http://www.equifax.com/dispute. You can also dispute inaccuracies by mail or phone. You will need to dispute inaccuracies on your credit reports with each CRA individually. You can also add a consumer statement explaining the issues surrounding the credit score change.

Q: If the original creditor is no longer reporting past due accounts, why can a collection agency continue to report negative information on my credit report?

A: A collection agency that purchased a debt from a creditor can continue to report the information within the guidelines for up to seven years from the date of the last activity (DLA). For example, if the original creditor charged the balance off to bad debt in 2005 and subsequently sold the debt to a collection agency, the DLA would be seven years from 2005. You can contact the creditor directly if you have specific questions regarding information it is reporting.

Q: Is there a way to remove a collection item by paying off the debt? Why pay the debt if it’s going to stay on your credit report?

A: As a general rule it is always better to pay off debt, even if it is charged off or in collections. While there is no way to remove the collection for seven years, creditors will often report the debt as paid — it is often viewed more positively.

Q: If I choose to stop paying a revolving line of credit, how long will the unpaid debt remain on my credit report?

A: Most accounts will stay on your credit report for seven years. However, you should make sure that you settle the account properly with your creditor. Stopping payment on your account may have a negative effect on your credit score.