There is a new bill that is being passes, it is a very weak bill but if passed, it will prohibit using a social security number for identification purposes. This bill should take affect in 2006.

If you feel you have been a victim of identity fraud, contact the Department of Justice, consumer protection division. They offer mediation with identity theft; they also have a hot line for consumers that is available 8-5 Monday ¨C Friday. They maintain a database of written complaints that goes back to 1998. They offer seminars to school, seniors or your group.

Be aware that 40 million crooks obtained credit card numbers this past year, ¡°Be Suspicious¡±. Also be aware that most identify theft is not reported, especially when it involves family members, so the statistics are off. These statistics show that consumers lost $5 billion last year when in actuality it is closer to $50 billion. There have been an estimated 9.9 million victims in America.

U.S. Postal Inspection Service www.usps.com/postalinspectors

Federal Trade Commission www.consumer.gov.idtheft\r877-IDTHEFT or TTY ¨C 202-326-2502

U.S. Secret Service www.secretservice.gov

Department of Justice www.usdoj.gov/criminal/fraud/idtheft

Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation www.fdic.gov/consumers

Equifax www.exuifax.com\r800-525-6285

Experian www.experian.com\r888-397-3742

Trans union www.transunion.com\r800-680-7289

Social Security Administration Fraud Hotline\rPO Box 17768\rBaltimore, MD 21235\r800-269-0271 www.socialsecurity.gov

North American Securities Agency Administrators (NASAA) \rwww.nasaa.org

Better Business Bureau www.search.bbb.org/search.html

United States Postal Service www.usps.com

National Do Not Call Registry www.donotcall.gov\r888-382-1222

Direct marketing Association Consumer Assistance\rhttp://www.dmaconsumers.org/consumerassistance.html Registering by mail is FREE and registering online is $5.00. To remove your name from national mailing lists by mail:

Mail Preference Service\rDirect Marketing Association\rPO Box 643\rCarmel, NY 10512

Identity Theft Resource Center www.idtheftcenter.org\r858-693-7935

International check service 800-526-5380

Telecheck 800-927-0755

Certegy Check Services 800-437-5120

Internet Fraud Complaint Center http://www.ifccfbi.gov/index.asp

Fight Identity Theft http://www.fightidentitytheft.com/

Michelle Dunn has over 17 years experience in credit and debt collection. She is the founder of Never Dunn Publishing, LLC, is a writer, consultant and the Editorial Advisor for Eli Financial Debt Collection Compliance Alert Newsletter. Michelle started M.A.D. Collection Agency and ran is successfully for 7 years. She owns and runs Credit & Collections.com a free online community for credit and business professionals.

She has written 5 books in her Collecting Money Series and is currently writing a book for the Streetwise Series, part of the Adams Media Corporation. For more information on Michelle¡¯s services or to order any of her books please email her at michelle@michelledunn.com or visit http://www.michelledunn.com & http://www.credit-and-collections.com