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Protect Our Military – They Protect Us

Preventing Consumer Abuse of Our Military and Veterans

Safeguarding our freedom during war and peacetime is the ultimate gift our military personnel and veterans provide each of us. We owe them a deep debt of gratitude. I am committed to protecting Arizona military personnel, their dependents and veterans against thieves and con artists.

Unfortunately, America’s military personnel, their families and veterans are prime targets for ID theft and consumer scams, according to the National Consumer Law Center. Despite new laws and initiatives to curb such abuse, the trend continues. See 5/23/06 Consumer Advisory from Attorney General Goddard concerning the recent theft of data maintained by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

Armed services personnel and veterans can take the following steps to protect themselves from ID thieves and con artists:

Active Duty Alert

The Federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) provides active duty personnel with an opportunity to place an “active duty alert” on their credit reports in an effort to reduce identity theft during periods of deployment. This alert requires a business or financial institution to verify that the person applying for credit is not an imposter. Military personnel should contact any of the following three national credit reporting companies to place the “active duty alert”:

The “active duty alert” stays in effect for one year, unless the individual or his or her personal representative requests that it be removed before the year expires.

Free Credit Reports

Military personnel and veterans can also protect themselves against ID theft by monitoring their credit reports to determine if someone has applied for or obtained credit in their name. Provisions in the FCRA provide Arizonans with the opportunity to receive free copies of their credit reports once a year from each of the national credit reporting companies listed above.

To obtain the credit reports at no cost, consumers can contact a centralized source:

Telephone: 1.877.322.8228
Online: www.annualcreditreport.com
Mail: Complete the Annual Credit Report Request Form available at www.ftc.gov and mail to:

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

To maximize the benefits of the free credit reports, consumers should consider spacing out their requests over a twelve-month period, requesting a report from a different credit reporting agency every four months.

Please note that if you contact one of the three companies without using the phone number or addresses listed above, you could be charged for the report.

Consumers are also entitled to a free report from each of the credit reporting companies if they believe they have been the victim of identity theft. Consumers will most likely be asked to provide a copy of the police report. If consumers are denied credit based on information provided by a credit reporting agency, they are also entitled to a free credit report if they make a request within 30 days after the application for credit was denied.

These are just two steps military personnel and veterans can take to prevent ID theft. More information on consumer fraud issues and ID theft prevention can be found on this Web site.

If you think that you have been a victim of identity theft or any consumer scam, you should first contact the company in writing and specifically request the relief that you feel is appropriate. You may also file a complaint with the Arizona Attorney General's Office:

• File an online complaint
• Print a complaint form, fill it out and mail it to us with photocopies of supporting documents
• Contact us by phone or mail for information and/or a complaint form

PHOENIX
OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
Consumer Information and Complaints
1275 West Washington
Phoenix, Arizona 85007-2926
602.542.5763 or
800.352.8431 (outside of the Phoenix Metro Area)
consumerinfo@azag.gov

or

TUCSON
OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
Consumer Information and Complaints
400 West Congress
South Building, Suite 315
Tucson, Arizona 85701-1367
520.628.6504 or 800.352.8431
consumerinfo@azag.gov

MILITARY AND VETERANS HOTLINE 1.866.879.5219

Because this Office receives thousands of complaints per year, not all of them can be fully investigated. However, you should receive a response to your complaint within two to three weeks. Many complaints result in Attorney General enforcement actions against companies or merchants. An enforcement action sometimes results in civil penalties, attorneys’ fees and refunds to affected consumers.

Sign up to receive scam alerts from our Office.

Click here to file an Online Complaint (be sure to mention that you are a veteran, active duty personnel or military dependent).

Click here for access to the Federal Trade Commission Web site.