For the longest time, I have had a
prompt in my calendar yearly to check my credit report. Credit reports can be received free annually
from the three major credit reporting companies – TransUnion, Equifax and
Experian. In the past, I would request
my credit reports from all three companies at the same time on the website
www.annualcreditreport.com . There are
numerous other sites that purport to offer free credit reports, but generally
there is a catch – and a fee. If you
want to check your credit, be sure to use the right site. Federal law allows you to get a free copy of
your credit report once every twelve months from each of the three credit
reporting companies. At a recent financial class I attended, the speaker
suggested that rather than get all your reports at once, you should stagger
them, so that every 4 months you would be checking the accuracy of your report
from at least one of the companies. Given
the frequencies of data breaches, it makes pretty good sense. Maybe you would like to put a prompt in your
calendar every four months to check out your credit, rotating through the three
companies.
Once you have your credit report in
hand (or on screen) you can check to make sure that there are no errors, or
loans/credit cards in your name that you didn’t open yourself. Two of my family members, I’ll call them Steve
and Susan, have had their identities stolen in very different ways, but
checking credit reports routinely might have tipped them off a little sooner to
the problems. In the one case, a “friend”
had too much access to Steve’s financial information and was able to open new
credit cards in his name, directing the mail to another post office box. Luckily, Steve was informed about it by a
mutual acquaintance who suspected what was happening. When he requested his credit report, Steve
was surprised to see how many credit cards were open in his name and their
balances. Yikes!
Not only do credit reports show
what lines of credit are open in your name and your balances, they also show
payment history, credit limits and closed accounts. Credit reports can be useful tool for those
wishing to improve their credit, as they can see where they can make
improvements. I have known people who have obtained their credit reports,
changed their financial habits and improved their credit record after a couple
years of diligence. Improving credit
after your identity has been stolen may take more time and involve a lot more
hassle.
My family member, Susan, had her
identity stolen by a co-worker, who unfortunately not only damaged credit in her
name, but also has quite a rap sheet with law enforcement under Susan’s
name. Not only has the identity theft
hurt her credit, but it has also cost her a few jobs. She is in a profession that requires
background checks and typically, employers are not inclined to hire someone
wanted for drug running and prostitution; nor do they want to invest the time
to wade through the identity theft situation to get to the real truth. Imagine explaining those charges at an
interview! Resources for you:
Tips for Taxpayers, Victims about Identity Theft and Tax Returns
How to Place a Fraud Alert
Identity Theft
