Living in today’s world, you’ve heard numerous reports about identity theft and the steps that you can take to help prevent someone from stealing your identity. One of these things is to regularly check your credit report. Your credit report contains information such as loans that have been taken out, jobs that you have held and whether you have been timely in making payments on your accounts. It also contains such information as your social security number, date of birth, and address history.
When reviewing your credit report, you need to look for things that don’t belong, such as loans or credit cards that you did not apply for. This is a sure sign that someone is using your identity. You also need to check your employment and address history. False information in your credit report about employment and address history may also be a red flag that someone is using your identity. If you find discrepancies in your credit report and you are viewing it on a computer, make sure that you print it out before you call the credit bureaus to report it. This will allow you to have all the information that you need at your fingertips.
There are three major credit reporting agencies that you can get your credit report from and it is recommended that you contact each one. These credit bureaus are Experian, Equifax and TransUnion. You will often find that there are differences in your credit report from each agency. For example, if you have recently received a new credit card, it may show up on your Experian report, but not the other two. Pay close attention to this and record any discrepancies so you can contact the credit bureaus about them.
Checking your credit report semi-annually or annually is one of the ways to help ensure that, if your identity has been stolen, you can catch it in a timely manner and reduce some of the damage that may otherwise be done. With new laws in place giving you the right to receive free annual credit reports, there is no reason to fall victim to the vicious thieves that are out there looking to destroy your life.
Categories: Credit Reports 101 , articles
