HELPING WITH THE ID THEFT EPIDEMIC

Identity theft. It’s one of the most frightening events that can happen to a consumer, violating your privacy and making you feel helpless. It jeopardizes your finances, your physical safety, and your ability to conduct any of the day-to-day activities we all take for granted.

It’s one of the fastest-growing crimes in the United States, according to the U.S. Social Security Administration.

Equally as compelling is that 23 percent of identity theft cases are discovered during the debt collection process, as reported by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Consumers with no seriously delinquent obligations are often contacted by debt collectors because someone has used their personal information to make unauthorized and illegal purchases. Not only is the debt falsely accrued to the victim, but his or her credit rating can be seriously damaged. The average ID theft victim spends $500 and 30 hours to resolve the problem, according to survey results from the House of Representatives Committee on Ways and Means.

It is an issue of great concern among responsible debt recovery firms and a growing priority for ACA International, the credit and collection industry’s trade association, as well as for the FTC.

Portfolio Recovery Associates, Inc. (PRA) has taken decisive steps toward intervention to support individuals who may be experiencing identity theft. Every month, we hear complaints from people in distress. Their firsthand testimony powerfully supports industry data on the issue.

For PRA, it was a call to action. In response, we launched PRA Verification Services as a pilot in November 2010. As an industry-leading debt recovery company, PRA determined that it had the opportunity - and the responsibility - to directly address the problem with practical solutions.

PRA Verification Services provides one-on-one, VIP service for individuals who indicate that PRA accounts resulted from identity theft and would like PRA’s assistance to repair the damage done to their credit and restore their good name.

As part of this service, PRA bears the cost of obtaining a dedicated specialist from a major credit bureau company that will assist the identity theft victim in filling out all of the paperwork associated with identity theft, including police reports, credit bureau notifications, and information on how to file a complaint with the FTC. We work together to ensure that inaccurate information is removed from credit reports of these individuals who are victims of identity theft.

PRA assumes the full cost of all necessary information-gathering, background-checking, and document completion. Such an investment on our end is in everyone’s interest. We all benefit by minimizing the impact of identity theft on the personal lives of customers, as well as its adverse impact on businesses and merchants. They too are victims of this troubling trend.

No one in our industry would claim that debt recovery firms and programs like PRA Verification Services can totally solve a problem that is now a national crisis. However, we do believe we are making a very important contribution. Identity theft demands a national response, and Portfolio Recovery Associates is proud to be among the early responders.