| Free steps towards protecting your ID
Thanks to a new law in Maryland, you can now request the three major credit reporting agencies not give out your credit report. It is just the newest way to protect you from identity theft. It will cost you $15, a five dollar fee from each credit reporting agencies. But there are two other steps you can take to guard your good name and they are both free.You see ads all the time promising you a free credit report. Those ads are all too familiar to Angie Barnett, President and CEO of the Better Business Bureau of Greater Maryland. “It is all over the internet, we find them everywhere, I'm listening to the radio, you hear it constantly." But Barnett warns buyers beware. She says, “that you can get these free credit reports but what they are going to do is give you something you can already get for free then secondly they are going to try to sell you a bundle or package of services that are directly related to protecting you from identity theft." She goes on to say that those services are steps you can take on your own without paying.The federal government requires all three of the major credit reporting agencies, Transunion, Experian and Equifax, to give you a free copy of your report once a year. There is only one place on the internet where you can do that and it is http://www.annualcreditreport.com“We encourage people to be sure you stagger it," says Barnett.
WHAT THE PAPERS SAY
Get Alan Shearer..Sir John Hall has backed Mike Ashley's decision to snub the dream ticket management combination of Kevin Keegan and Alan Shearer. DAILY STAR: Mark Hughes last night refused to rule out becoming Newcastle's next manager. Also: Steve Sidwell is joining Sunderland on loan with a view to a permanent move from Chelsea...John Terry expects to be cleared today to resume full training - just a month after breaking a bone in his foot. DAILY MIRROR: Mark Hughes is ready to accept an offer from Newcastle this week to succeed Sam Allardyce as manager. Also: The Newcastle United job is going to a Geordie boy according to sacked manager Sam Allardyce - Wigan boss Steve Bruce...Kieran Richardson gave Harry Redknapp a real taste of how unpleasant life is up north.
The 90-Grand Phone Call
In early July, Joel Albert headed to his local Staples in Potomac, Md., to buy a paper shredder. The retired broadcast journalist opted for the cheapest model he could find -- one that accommodated just five documents at a time and cost less than $30. His purchase was a small gesture toward trying to establish some measure of security for his finances -- giving him and his wife just a little peace of mind in the aftermath of his role in the now widely publicized identity theft ordeal that unfolded just weeks before. Albert was one of the 30,000 victims of the largest identity theft racket in U.S. history. He was no small contributor to the culprits' total take of $3 million and counting. His contribution? Nearly 90 grand in equity he had built up in his Maryland home over the past 31 years.
Euroshares close flat to higher; tech outperforms on SAP, IBM reports ...
(Updating with full report) LONDON, Jan. 14, 2008 (Thomson Financial delivered by Newstex) -- Europe's leading exchanges closed out the session flat to higher amid ongoing credit concerns and fears of a US recession, but the technology sector outperformed after strong quarterly sales from SAP and a solid earnings report from US computer giant IBM. (NYSE:IBM) The Dow Jones STOXX (OOTC:DJSFF) 50 Index dipped 0.17 point to 3,539.03 while the DJ STOXX 600 Index ticked up 1.09 points, or 0.3 pct, to 344.78. At the close of European trading, US stocks were trading higher after IBM said preliminary fourth-quarter earnings rose 24 pct year-on-year to beat Wall Street expectations by a wide margin, with the weaker dollar helping to push revenue up 10 pct. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, of which IBM is a component, was up more than 100 points.
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