Free credit report is worth plenty

Beginning Dec. 1, all U.S. residents will be allowed one free credit report per year under the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act.

Checking your credit report is a vital step before you invest in a mortgage or take out a personal, business or auto loan. Your credit file can reveal black marks — such as late payments, overdraft charges or other problems — that can prevent you from getting a lender’s best interest rates. It can also help you determine if you’ve been a victim of identity theft.

The so-called FACT Act phases in the one free report per year across the nation, with Idaho and Washington both occurring on Dec. 1.

To get a copy of your credit report, contact one of the three credit agencies that collect information on you and your personal financial actions. Call Equifax at 1-800-997-2493, Experian at 1-800-397-3742, or Trans Union at 1-800-888-4213.

Identity thieves target teens

Teenagers are favorites targets of identity thieves, experts said at a recent meeting on the topic sponsored by Qwest Communications.

Young people made up nearly a third of all identity theft victims last year, according to a representative of the Federal Trade Commission who took part in the event.

Teenagers often first learn about the theft when they apply for a driver’s license or credit card and discover that someone else has been using their name and Social Security number. The thieves frequently are relatives, roommates, co-workers or other people known to the teen, participants in the meeting said.

“It feels like you have no control over your life,” said panel participant Rhea Takara of San Diego, Calif., whose father forged her name on credit card receipts. “Lots of people don’t even want to talk about it because the theft often involves someone they know. It was very hard for me to be betrayed by a parent.”

The findings of the meeting, plus tips on preventing identity theft, are online at www.qwest.com/identitytheft, then click on the Teen Summit button.

Refunds are waiting for thousands

More than 2,000 Washington taxpayers have income-tax refund checks waiting for them, the Internal Revenue Service says.

Those are people whose refund checks were returned to the IRS undelivered, usually because the taxpayers had moved without notifying the IRS or U.S. Postal Service. The checks total more than $1.6 million, which works out to an average of nearly $700 each.

The IRS will reissue those checks to taxpayers if they receive updated address information, the agency says.

Taxpayers can check on their refund on the IRS’s Web site, at www.irs.gov. The “Where’s my refund?” tool requires a Social Security number, the taxpayer’s filing status (single or married, for example) and the refund amount.

Sometimes gift cards take away

When it comes to gift giving, one of the easiest options is a gift certificate.

You can buy them in various denominations and can find them for many stores, restaurants and services. But if you don’t choose carefully, you could end up giving a gift that gets slowly eaten away by fees — before the recipient gets a chance to spend it.

Common gift-card pitfalls include:

Expiration dates. Some are as short as a year.

Dormancy fees. These kick in if the card isn’t used within a set period of time — usually between six months and a year. The fee can be as high a $2 per month.

Balance/maintenance fees. A low percentage of your remaining balance will be deducted every month after the card isn’t used within a set period of time.

Limits on cash back. If you redeem your gift certificate for merchandise valued at less than the gift certificate’s value, you may get cash back for the remainder. Other gift cards don’t offer cash back, even if the remainder is a few pennies.

Whether you’re the giver or the receiver, check the details of your gift card. Fees and limitations are typically written in fine print on the card, or somewhere on the packaging.