Imagine the feeling: You’ve worked tirelessly to save up for an entire year to replace the old clunker with a shiny new car. Now you’re finally ready to buy. You haven’t been monitoring your credit, so before heading to the dealership, you pull your credit report to learn your credit score and get a sense of the type of loan for which you’ll qualify.
But your report reveals a bombshell. Several credit card accounts have been falsely opened in your name. Someone has charged thousands of dollars in purchases!
Monitoring your credit is one of the most effective ways to ensure you haven’t unknowingly fallen victim to an identity thief or other criminal. Your credit report can tell you all sorts of valuable information, including:
• A listing of all credit cards opened in your name
• A record of any loan taken out in your name
• How much is owed on all credit cards and loans
• How regularly you make payments
• If any action has been taken against you because of unpaid bills
By checking your credit report, you can verify that no credit cards or loans have been fraudulently taken out in your name. In a matter of minutes, you can ensure you’re safe from identity theft.
Credit Monitoring Services
To further protect yourself from identity theft, consider a utilizing a credit monitoring service. These services constantly monitor your credit by the 3 reporting agencies: Experian, TransUnion and Equifax. If any of these agencies enters new information into your credit history (for example, because someone attempted to open an account in your name), you are instantly alerted. That way, you can take immediate action to research the suspicious activity and raise the red flag if the activity is in fact fraud.
Whether you opt for monitoring your credit on a regular basis on your own, or you automate the process by utilizing a credit monitoring service, it is critical to know your credit situation at all times. Don’t let an identity theft ruin your ability to maintain a positive credit score and ruin your purchasing power.
No related posts.
© Cole for Identity Theft Blog, 2009. | Monitoring Your Credit to Prevent Identity Theft | http://www.identitytheftblog.com/78/monitoring-your-credit-prevent-identity-theft/
