Ninth Coast Guard District Legal

HOT TOPICS

Connecting with the Military Article, Stephen T. Lynch

Please refer to the Connecting with the Military article.

VOTING

Please refer to the DOD Federal Voting Assistance Program for information on absentee voting.

TAXES

Please refer to our January 2009 Newsletter titled Tax Tips.

PCS

Please refer to our April 2007 Newsletter titled PCS.

OHIO REGISTRATION

Ohio allows military personnel that are not Ohio residents to register their vehicles in Ohio only if they are stationed in Ohio. Once they leave the state of Ohio, they must register their vehicles in the state they are stationed in next or their home of record state. If you are currently stationed in Ohio, your first step would be to title the vehicle in Ohio. For the information about how to process the title work, you can contact your Ohio county clerk of courts office. There is a list of clerk offices on the Ohio BMV web site. Once you have an Ohio title you would take that to any Ohio deputy registrar license agency and the deputy would figure and collect the fees and issue you a set of license plates, a registration and validation sticker. You will need to provide identification that includes your social security number also. Also you could provide a form BMV 5741 (Rev. 2/03) - Application for Exemption from Payment of Permissive Tax by a Non-Resident Member of the Armed Forces.

YOU CAN NOW OBTAIN YOUR "FREE" CREDIT REPORTS

The Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACTA), requires the three nationwide credit-reporting agencies (Equifax, Experian and Trans Union) to provide consumers, upon request, a free copy of their credit report once every 12 months. So, how does one get these free reports because of FACTA? You can order your free annual credit report online at www.annualcreditreport.com, or by calling 877-322-8228.

When you order, you will need to provide your name, address, Social Security Number, and date of birth. To verify your identity, you may need to provide some information that only you would know, like the amount of your monthly mortgage payment.

For more information on free annual credit reports, read: Your Access to Free Credit Reports. Need help or have further questions? Check out: Frequently Asked Questions

CREDIT CARD FRAUD TIPS
Credit card security is always an important issue but during this holiday season, risks of credit card fraud always increase. The U.S. Secret Service has recently released a series of tips for people who have been victims of any sort of credit card theft or fraudulent use:
1. Report the crime to the police at once. Get a copy of the report, or at least the report number for your records.
2. Cancel the credit cards involved in the fraud and get new cards issued immediately. Have the account(s) marked as "closed at consumer's request" for credit record purposes. A follow up letter to the card issuer is also a good idea.
3. Report the card fraud to the fraud units of the three credit reporting bureaus and have your accounts flagged. The three credit bureaus are:
Equifax Credit Information Services/Consumer Fraud Division, P.O. Box 105496,
Atlanta, Ga., 30348-5496 - (800) 997-2493, www.equifax.com;
Experian, P.O. Box 2104, Allen, Texas 75013-2104 - (888) 397-3742, www.experian.com; and, Trans Union Fraud Victim Assistance Department, P.O. Box 390, Springfield, Pa., 19064-0390 - (800) 680-7289, www.transunion.com.
4. Keep a written record of all conversations with officials concerning the fraud.
5. As a general rule, use caution in deciding to whom you provide credit card information or your social security number. (If your Social Security number is used fraudulently, contact the Social Security Administration's Office of Inspector General.)
6. If you have suffered identity theft, file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) Consumer Response Center, Federal Trade Commission, 600 Pennsylvania Ave. N.W., Washington, D.C. 20580 - (877) 382-4357, or TDD (202) 326-2502.

If you have questions concerning this information, please contact this office, Commander (dl), Ninth Coast Guard District, 1240 East Ninth Street, Cleveland, OH 44199-2060 or phone us at: (216) 902-6010.

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Ninth Coast Guard District Legal