The biggest problem created by reward chasing (which I do, by the way, and heartily endorse) is that you can wind up hurting your credit scores if you chew up a big chunk of your credit limit—even if you play the game right, by paying balances off in full. I try not to use more than 30% of any card's limit (the lower the better; under 10% is ideal). If your issuer won't raise your limit, you can make two payments: one a few days before the statement closes, to reduce the balance reported to the credit bureaus, and another right before the due date to pay off any remaining charges.

PREVIOUSLY: Is It OK To Use Credit Cards For Everything, If You Pay Them Off Every Month? (Photo: crazyBobcat)

1) free credit report monitoring for six months, plus cash if there's any money left over in settlement fund and you still get to sue them if you want
2) all the benefits of option one but you can't sue them any further.
3) 9 months of credit monitoring, access to some free credit scores, and free use of TransUnion's mortgage simulator service - but no cash payment. For more information, visit the settlement site at ListAction.com or call 1-866-416-3470.

ListClassAction [Official Settlement Site] (Thanks to Scott!)
PREVIOUSLY: Massive TransUnion Settlement To Reveal Credit Scores (Photo: dbdbrobot)

Preferring not to have his credit report read without a written agreement, Steve said no. A week later, a card arrived in the mailing congratulating him on signing up with free credit report monitoring services from Intersections Inc! It even included the Terms of Service that the rep said they were supposedly unable to send out.

A conference call later between his bank and Intersections his problem is on the way to resolution, but of the experience Steve writes, "Identity theft is a real problem. It happened to one of our staffers recently. But after this experience, I think "services" like this are part of the problem, not part of the solution."

Identity Protection . . . Not?! [Steve Jackson Games Daily Illuminator] (Thanks to John!)

I have been battling with a silly preconception the federal government has concerning my status as a deceased person, that causes them to routinely shut down credit cards that I am using, and stresses my ability to build credit. (All this despite being actively enlisted in the US Navy)...

I have managed to track this anomaly down to TranUnion, Equifax, and Experian having records of my death, and that these originated from Best Buy of all places, with whom I held an account with, and subsequently canceled. (Who knew the penalty was doom?) I do not know which exactly of the three I should contact, or all three, and more importantly I was wondering if you knew of the proper format, or a template I could fill out and mass/mail to these three companies, before the damage to my credit keeps me from getting a home?

Hi John,

You need to contact all three of them. You can do this online for free by going through annualcreditreport.com. There's links at each of the bureaus for disputing items on your credit report. Follow them and the instructions and let them know that reports of your death are greatly exaggerated.

TransUnion
P.O. Box 6790
Fullerton, CA 92834

Experian
P.O. Box 9530
Allen, TX 70513

Equifax
P.O. Box 740241
Atlanta, GA 30374

(Photo: Getty)

Credit Karma [Official Site]

Claudia tried to get Sears/Citibank to correct their report. 25 calls, 11 days, and 3 faxes that never happened later, Claudia stumbled across our post, "Contact Citibank CEO William Rhodes."

She got in touch with a nice lady named Diana and in less than one business day, Claudia's dad was no longer dead. "Thank you so much for such useful information," she writes. "I feel like a big load has been lifted off my shoulders."

Claudia's father could have also disputed the information with the credit bureaus, but that would have taken several months to resolve. The loan couldn't wait. Luckily, trusty ol' executive customer service came to the rescue. Remember it and use it when necessary.

• CreditKarma.com: Gives you your TransUnion score. Advertising-supported.
• E-Loan: Experian score. Scroll down to "One-Time Credit Snapshots" and "Free Credit Score (Credit Score Only)"
• Prosper: Experian score. Information on how to do it here.
• LendingClub: Gives you a letter grade score, which you can use this chart to translate to a numerical score.
• Washington Mutual Credit Cards: Get your Transunion score when you log in.

• Another way these are useful is that if you check in periodically and keep track of the results, you can see how your score fluctuates and try to correlate its delta with any credit-related actions you took during that time. But, if you're shopping for a loan or a mortgage, you will definitely want to pony up the cash and get your real FICO score.

  [via MyMoneyBlog]

While it may not be obvious when a consumer receives such a high verdict, without attorney fee awards, most attorneys would not be able to bring lawsuits against credit reporting bureaus like Equifax, unscrupulous debt collectors, mortgage fraudsters, and other consumer predators. As the 11th Circuit said over two decades ago, "[t]he award of attorney fees, as a practical matter, is a critical and integral part of [the creation of a system of private attorneys general.]"

(Photo: KUTV)

TransUnion
2 Baldwin Place
P.O. Box 2000
Chester, PA 19022

Experian
P.O. Box 2104
Allen, TX 75013-2104

Equifax
P.O. Box 740241
Atlanta, GA 30374-0241

REFERENCE
Protect Your Children's Credit with a Freeze! [Ask Marian]
(Photo: Getty)

Florida woman wins multimillion-dollar jury verdict against Equifax [Orlando Sentinel] (Thanks to Prarit!)

Dispute credit reports at this address:
P. O. Box 9701
Allen, Texas, 75013

Address to complain above address is not listed on the Experian website:
Attn.: NCAC Complaints,
701 Experian Pkwy.
Allen,Texas 75013.

Now Ali Husseins across America can rest assured that their financial interests are held secure.

The product works in three easy steps:

Step 1: Upload the delimited text file of your bank's transactions
Step 2: Browse Results for anything that looks "Bin Ladeny"
Step 3: Deny Funds
Step 4: Profit!!!

— BEN POPKEN

PREVIOUSLY:
How Banks Flag Ordinary Customers As Terrorists
How Banks Freeze Terrorist Founds With A Free, Public, .TXT

For instance, one Tom Hassan Kubbany of Detroit got flagged as a potential terrorist because "Hassan" is an alias for "Ali Saddam Hussein," one of Saddam Hussein's alleged sons. Because of the flag, Tom found a lot of lenders shutting their doors in his face when applying for a home loan.

Back in January, we actually wrote a post on how the OFAC lists work. Check it out: How Banks Freeze Terrorist Founds With A Free, Public, .TXT

— BEN POPKEN

Ordinary Customers Flagged as Terrorists [Washington Post via BoingBoing]
(Illustration: Chym 's Fake-Concept)

Let's find out how it works, and what to do if your credit report says you're a terrorist...

OFAC!

The US government uses the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), created in 1950, to staunch the flow of banking transactions. OFAC's primary asset freezing tool is the Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) list. This list is a database of foreign individuals and groups known for narcotics trafficking, WMD proliferation, and acts of terrorism.

And anyone can download it free from the OFAC website!

"All Financial Roads Lead to New York"

In a public Senate hearing on September 12, 2006, the director of OFAC, Adam Szubin, explained that nearly every financial transaction in the world passes through the US at some point. Section 326 of the 2001 Patriot Act mandates US banks to update their account holder software to jive with the SDN. Any transaction with a name matching a name on the SDN gets stopped and reported to OFAC. Easy-peasy.

Furthermore, Szubin said, countries often adopt OFAC sanctions to avoid doing business with international terrorists. Citing Kuwait and Latvia as two examples of countries voluntarily adopting SDN screening, Szubin declared that tOFAC's list runs, "across the computer screens of banks around the world."

However, to avoid OFAC, terrorist financiers can try circulating funds through a few non-SDN complaint countries and banks. Alternatively, they can look up their name on the SDN and make sure to use one not on the list.

On the SDN one finds terrorist celebrities like Saddam Hussein, various Al-Qaeda party members, and Osama Bin Laden. Each has a designation code. Bin Laden ranks a SDT and SDGT for "Specially Designated Terrorist" and "Specially Designated Global Terrorist."

SDN CODES

• SDNT - Specially Designated Narcotics Trafficker
• SDNTK - Specially Designated Narcotics Trafficker Kingpin
• BPI-SDNTK - Blocked Property and Interests SDNTK
• SDT - Specially Designated Terrorist
• SDGT - Specially Designated Global Terrorists
• NPWMD - Non-Proliferation Weapons of Mass Destruction
• FTO - Foreign Terrorist Organization

(This could be incorporated into some kind of Myspace pass-along. What kind of terrorist are you?)

A Terrorist by Any Other Name

Credit reporting agencies also adopted OFAC measures. This helps prevent terrorists from refinancing their home. It can also mean a headache if your name is similar to one on the SDN.

On Sept. 5, 2006, The Arcata Eye news reported that a man who shared a similar name to one of Saddam Hussein's less ambitious sons, Ali Saddam Hussein, was denied a home loan on the basis of the SDN match. The Arcatan's name was "Hassan."

A section in OFAC's online FAQ, "What Is This OFAC Information On My Credit Report?" advises that if your credit report indicates an SDN match:

If this a false match, you can request its removal by contacting the credit bureau(s) and reporting the false information, the same as any old piece of credit report misinformation.

Otherwise, if you have the misfortune to have a name similar to one on the SDN list, just hope that your lender has more of a backbone than Hassan's. Or, change your name. — BEN POPKEN

FreeCreditReport is run by credit bureau Experian.

The investigation will also examine other Experian propetites, including Consumerinfo.com, Inc., Experian Consumer Direct; Qspace, Inc.; Iplace, Inc.; and the Web sites Consumerinfo.com; Creditexpert.com; and Creditmatters.com.

There is only place to get your annual credit report for free, AnnualCreditReport.com. Everything else is a scam or an attempt to deceive the consumer into paying for something they don't need. — BEN POPKEN

FreeCreditReport.com Investigated [The Red Tape Chronicles] (Thanks to Scott!)

Call 1-877-322-8228.

Or mail in this form to

Annual Credit Report Request Service
P.O. Box 105281
Atlanta, GA 30348-5281

The credit report sites will only let you get your report free for 24 hours, sometimes only once. Since some of the sites have lots of links and drop down windows, accurately printing out your credit report can be a bit of a chore.

These options are also good if you're paranoid about sending personal information over the internet and believe the phone and mail system is a lot more secure.

This is also good if If you're trying to help out a not-so-internet-savvy friend or family member. Using the phone or the USPS ensures they won't be sidetracked into paying for credit report services they don't need.