SECURITY CENTER
COLUMNIST / BLOGS
TOOLS
PODCASTS/VIDEOS
How To Invest and Save Money
Britt Erica Tunick is an award winning financial journalist who has spent the past 17 years writing about virtually every aspect of finance. She has mastered the art of boiling down complicated financial topics for readers to understand. |
Identity theft is running rampant and has ruined the lives of tens of thousands of people. We have a simple plan to help you protect yourself. Checking on Your Identity By Britt Erica Tunick The unfortunate reality of identity theft is that, in most cases, by the time you discover you are a victim someone has already done a hatchet job on your credit score and run up a ton of debt in your name. As with anything, keeping tabs on your identity and credit score is critical. It can minimize damage to your credit and prevent or minimize the costly legal fees identity theft victims get stuck with trying to reclaim their identities and restore their credit. The easiest way to monitor for identity theft is to check your credit score. While it is widely known that too many inquiries into your credit can negatively impact your credit score, that doesn’t mean you can’t keep a close tab on your own credit. It is true that any inquiry about your credit is recorded, but it is only inquiries related to applications for credit that are factored into your credit score. Inquiries made by individuals about their own credit, or those made by potential employers or professionals reviewing your credit, are only visible to you. So you can check your credit as frequently as you’d like, though the three times you can legally do so at no cost each year is likely sufficient. Federal law allows individuals to obtain one free copy of their credit report annually from each of the three major credit bureaus, Experian, Equifax and TransUnion. If you check with one of the three credit bureaus every four months you’ll be able to keep a pretty close tab on your credit and prevent any significant damage. If you notice ANYTHING on your credit report that doesn’t appear familiar, check it out immediately. Beyond checking your official credit report, it is important to constantly monitor your credit card statements and even the mail you receive. Don’t assume a statement you receive in the mail for a credit card you never opened is a mistake. If an official statement or bill arrives in your name, check it out immediately. And don’t limit the monitoring of your credit to major credit cards. Retail credit cards from stores like Macy’s can be compromised just as easily and can have an equally detrimental impact on you credit. And if someone has managed to take over one of your retail cards, odds are they may have access to far more than that. Finally, if you believe your credit has been compromised or that someone has stolen your identity, be sure to contact the police and file an official report. This not only establishes a record, should you need to hire legal help to reclaim your identity, but it allows you to place a long-term flag on your social security number. Placing such a flag allows you to tie your social security number to your primary phone number. That means that anytime anyone, including you, uses that number to apply for any sort of credit, they will be unable to do so until the creditor verifies your identity by calling that number to ensure it is you seeking new credit. Following is contact information for the three major credit bureaus: |
Archive |