Vermont Identity Theft

Vermont has in place a law to protect consumers from identity theft. The law makes identity theft a crime and provides Vermont new ways to assist victims of identity theft. Quoting the Vermont Attorney general, "Identity theft is a big problem getting bigger both here in Vermont and nationally. The financial losses to victims, both individuals and businesses, are staggering."

Identity theft is the stealing of a consumer's private information such as Social Security Number, driver's license number, credit card number or bank account number. That information is then used to obtain illegal loans or credit lines to buy goods under the stolen name. Today, the identity thieves go so far as to change the consumer's mailing address to hide his or her illegal activities. If you don't receive your monthly billing statement, call the bank. Have the bank check for illegal activity.

According to the Federal Trade Commission, the consumers lose $5 billion a year to identity theft. Businesses lose another $45 billion a year. On average, individual victims loss is between $500 and $1200 before the theft is noticed and then the consumer typically has to spend between 30 and 60 hours resolving the problems caused by the theft of their identity.

In Vermont, the reported incidents of identity theft are on the rise. Although the victims are located throughout Vermont, the top locations of victims are Burlington, Bennington, Montpelier, Cavendish, Rutland, and Winooski.

The Vermont law requires local and state police to accept complaints about identity theft. In the past, victims of identity theft had difficulty filing complaints with police departments. Consumers can now also place a "security freeze" on their credit reports. The security freeze allows consumers to stop the use of their credit report to open new accounts. The law also requires credit card companies who are offering new credit cards through the mail to verify changes in addresses of consumers.

Beware of identity theft. Protect yourself before you become a statistic.