Unfortunately along with the holiday season usually comes an increase in credit card fraud and identity theft, so right after the holidays is a great time to check your credit report. The following article will show you why, when and how to check your credit report…
Why you should check your credit report
* to check for errors
* to check for fraud and identity theft
* to get the best interest rates
* more and more people are relying on credit scores - car insurance, employers, etc.
When to check your credit report:
* Once a year if you have good credit and don’t anticipate any large purchases in the near future
* Before a major purchase, such as a new home, new car, etc. - should request your credit report 6 months ahead of a big purchase so you have time to correct any errors
* If you’ve been denied a credit card, loan or other product or service because of your credit (you are entitled to a free credit report if you have been denied credit based on information found in your report)
* If you suspect that your identity has been stolen
* If you are starting a plan to get out of debt or repair your […]
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If you suspect you are a victim of identity theft or if you know you are, what should you do? Identity-theft victims don’t make the chaos but eventually they have to clear it. There’s no one who can do it except the consumer whose credit was ruined by an ID thief.
New initiatives can help identity-theft victims begin the lengthy procedure of demonstrating to creditors, collection agencies and law enforcement officials that they are who they say they are. It is up to the ID theft victim to prove that his identity has been stolen.
The first step is to report the crime to the police station where the crime occurred. Make sure the police report lists all fraud accounts. Give as much documented information as possible. Get a copy of the report and send it to the creditors and the credit-reporting agencies as verification of the crime. Keep the phone number of your police investigator handy.
Identity theft falls into three categories:
Financial identity theft:
This most commonly occurs when the Social Security number (SSN) and name is used to launch new lines of credit.
Criminal identity theft:
This happens when a person “borrows” the information of a minor to get a driver’s license. This person […]
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Online banking has become very popular and many people are using their online capabilities to do all of their banking. Those who have used online banking are now comfortable with it have found it to be an easy and fast way to get things done without having to visit the bank. While online banking can get things done fast, many people still wonder if it is safe.
The answer to that question is yes. Yes, as long as you take a few precautions yourself.
An interesting aspect to online banking came to light recently. It seems that those who bank online have a tendency to watch over their accounts better than those who do not use online banking. The reason for this is because those who use online banking have immediate access to their account information, seven days a week. Those who do not use online banking have to rely on their monthly statement to arrive before they can check their accounts in detail.
Having immediate access to their accounts allowed those online users to see if trouble was at hand, especially in the areas of fraud and identity theft. According to MSN Money columnist Liz Pulliam Weston, “Victims of cyber crime who […]
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