House Republican Press Release

May 26, 2006

Press Office: 860-240-8700

Rep. Hamzy: Identity Theft Prevention Seminar Scheduled for Bristol Veterans

Bristol Seminar Set for June 6^th at American Legion Post # 2 

An Identity Theft Information Team established by Governor M. Jodi Rell after the theft of personal data from 26.5 million U.S. veterans was discovered will conduct an identity theft prevention seminar for Bristol veterans Tuesday, June 6^th at American Legion Post #2, 22 Hooker Court, state Representative William A. Hamzy, R-78^th District, announced today.

The seminar will be held from 3:30 pm to 5:30 pm, Representative Hamzy said.

“The governor’s Identity Theft Information Team is composed of staff from the Departments of Consumer Protection, Public Safety, Banking and Veterans Affairs who are experts on identity theft prevention,” Representative Hamzy said. “They will be offering valuable suggestions on how area veterans who could be victimized because of the possible theft of their personal data from the U.S. Veterans Administration can take steps to avoid being ripped off.”

The seminar will provide information to veterans on how they can prevent identity theft, monitor their financial accounts and credit reports, and correct any erroneous information they find, Representative Hamzy said. 

Representative Hamzy said veterans who are concerned about the security of their personal data in light of the theft from the Veterans Administration can help prevent an identity thief from opening accounts in their names by placing a fraud alert on their credit reports as soon as possible. 

An initial fraud alert is a consumer statement that gets added to an individual’s credit file and lasts for 90 days. It alerts creditors of possible fraudulent activity and requests that they contact consumers prior to establishing credit in their names. Once a fraud alert is placed in your file, you are entitled to order free copies of your credit reports, and, if you ask, only the last four digits of your Social Security number will appear on your credit reports, Representative Hamzy said.

 Veterans may place a fraud alert for free by contacting any of the three major credit bureaus: Equifax, Experian or TransUnion, Representative Hamzy said.  

Contact information for those credit bureaus includes:

Equifax: 1-800-525-6285; www.equifax.com

Experian: 1-888-EXPERIAN (397-3742); www.experian.com

TransUnion: 1-800-680-7289; www.transunion.com