Staying Safe Online – Best Practices & Credit Freezing Agencies

Cyber criminals are constantly looking for new ways to attempt to gather important personal and financial information. Practicing good security habits and being aware of threats may help lessen the odds of becoming a victim.

Part of the value that we deliver at Covenant Wealth Strategies includes staying vigilant and protecting our clients' financial interests. For example, our team monitors all transactions and accounts under our management. Our security policy requires verbal confirmation from any client seeking to move money in or out of their account(s). If we see money moving without verbal consent, we will take immediate action and inform the client(s) impacted.

Even if you have not been a victim of identity theft, you should consider freezing or locking your credit files. The benefit of a freeze is that it prevents lenders from accessing your credit report. Lenders will typically not extend credit without first accessing your credit report.

You can contact the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) and the national consumer reporting agencies for more information on fraud alerts, security freezes and other steps you can take to avoid identity theft:

Equifax, P.O. Box 105788, Atlanta, Georgia 30348, 1-877-478-7625, www.equifax.com
Experian, P.O. Box 2002, Allen, TX 75013, 1-888-397-3742, www.experian.com
TransUnion, P.O. Box 2000, Chester, PA 19016, 1-800-680-7289, www.transunion.com
Federal Trade Commission, Consumer Response Center, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, D.C. 20580, 1-877-FTC-HELP (382-4357), www.ftc.gov/idtheft

You may also obtain a free copy of your credit report online at www.annualcreditreport.com or by calling toll-free 1-877-322-8228.