A credit inquiry is an item on your credit report that shows with permission a creditor requested your free credit score report.Not all credit inquiries affect your credit score:You may notice when you pull your credit report there are inquiries on there from a business you are not familiar with. The only inquiry that affects your credit score is the one where you are applying for credit. This is considered a hard pull on your report.Inquiries that affect your credit score:There is only one type of inquiry that affects your credit score. This type of inquiry is applications for a mortgage, auto loan and other credit, by you authorizing these creditors to access your credit report. This type of inquiry prompted by your own actions ends up on your personal credit report and affects your score.An inquiry that does not affect your credit score: Checking your own personal credit report or any business that offers goods and services that requests your report. A business that you already have a account with that requests a check. A potential employer that does credit checks. Some of these types of inquiries might show up on your report but do not affect your credit […]
Full Article At: KnowHow-Now.com Articles
Here is something that I just learned about and thought I would pass this on to you. Did you know that identity theft has hit the income tax process? Thieves are taking your personal information, filing a false tax return and getting your refund!How is this possible? You might assume that the thief would have to know everything about you, because tax returns aren’t simple documents. There’s dependent information, property taxes, employer records, all kinds of information that we all take great pains to make sure is correct. But, these details aren’t checked instantly for accuracy. You and I only make sure they’re accurate in case we’re audited months or even years after we file our returns. The person who steals your tax refund won’t be waiting around for an audit. Once he, or she, has your social security number and the tax-id number of any company, (s)he simply makes up the rest of the information. That’s right, all that’s needed to steal your refund is your social security number and a fake 1099 and/or W-2. The tax return doesn’t even need a real return address. If the false tax information is taken to a company that offers instant […]
Full Article At: KnowHow-Now.com Articles
Did you think Identity Theft Protection is unnecessary? Well you might want to think again. Dallas based actress Liz Mikel just found out the hard way that someone had stolen her identity and been having a field day. She stars in the NBC show “Friday Night Lights”, found out that identity thieves had went on-line and opened accounts in her name.Mikel said that she went to the mail and to her surprise there was a notice from Capital One that there was a problem with an account she did not have. After a phone call to the company she had learned that someone had been opening accounts in her name since early March.What you need to knowIdentity theft affects 9 million people every year, and is currently growing in epidemic proportions according to the FTC. Identity theft starts with the theft of your social security number, your credit cards, and financial information. For Identity thieves this information is like gold.Here is a variety of methods identity thieves may get a hold of your personal information:1. Pretexting- The use of false pretenses to obtain your personal information from financial institutions, telephone companies, and other resources with your information.2. Phising ‘ They […]
Full Article At: KnowHow-Now.com Articles
