Maxine Sweet, Vice President of Public Education for Experian, explains the importance of protecting your financial information and preventing identity theft and credit fraud. For more information, visit: http://www.experian.com/credit-education/credit-information.html
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Do you know what is on your credit report? One of the first signs of identity theft is false information or mistakes on your credit report. Get a free copy of your credit report from AnnualCreditReport.com from each of the three credit reporting bureaus once a year. Check your credit report for accuracy, and look for suspicious information that can suggest identity theft. Consider using a credit monitoring service to protect yourself against identity theft. This will help keep an eye on your credit history all the time, rather than only once a year by pulling your credit report from AnnualCreditReport.com.
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A proactive way to prevent identity theft is to freeze your credit file with the three credit reporting bureaus, Equifax, TransUnion and Experian. Freezing your credit file means no one can open a new account. It does not close your exisitng lines of credit, but it means that no one can open a new credit account or line of credit. If you’re young and trying to open lines of credit to establish your credit history you probably don’t want to freeze your credit file. However, seniors who don’t need to open more lines of credit and maybe have paid off their mortgage can consider freezing their credit to prevent possible identity theft. Also, consider freezing your credit if you think your personal information was compromised and you’re at risk for identity theft.
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Do you need a credit monitoring service? You can pull your credit report once a year for free from each of the three credit reporting bureaus from AnnualCreditReport.com, but you might want to monitor your credit more frequently. If you feel that you are at risk for identity theft, your personal information has been compromised, or you just want to keep an eye on your credit score, you might want to use a credit monitoring service. With a credit monitoring service you should be able to see your credit report and credit score, be notified when any changes occur, and depending on the service, freeze and unfreeze your credit file.
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Maxine Sweet, Vice President of Public Education for Experian, describes what a credit report is and what it contains. For more information, visit: http://www.experian.com/credit-education/credit-information.html
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Maxine Sweet, Vice President of Public Education for Experian, discusses the difference between a credit report and a credit score and how to request a credit score. For more information, visit: http://www.experian.com/credit-education/credit-information.html
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Maxine Sweet, Vice President of Public Education for Experian, discusses the impact of requesting your credit report on your credit score. For more information, visit: http://www.experian.com/credit-education/credit-information.html
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Maxine Sweet, Vice President of Public Education for Experian, provides details for disputing information if you feel there is an error in your credit report. For more information, visit: http://www.experian.com/credit-education/credit-information.html
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Often people who have been through a major economic setback such as bankruptcy fear they will never establish good credit again. Federal law allows negative information to remain on your credit report for seven or even ten years (for bankruptcy).Cleaning up a blemished credit history will take time, but which persistence and a focused strategy, within a year you can restore your credit. Lenders, credit card companies, and solicitors will begin contacting you again. Be wise about the credit you decide to establish and make sure your current situation can handle such credit. Your first step involves reviewing your credit report for any outdated or inaccurate information. If accounts you have paid in full are still listed as unpaid on the report, immediately notify the credit bureau. Try to pay off any accounts that are behind. Before you send a check, ask the credit to remove all negative information from your credit file in exchange for you taking care of the outstanding balance. Although under no obligation to agree, the creditor may be willing to remove at least some of the negative information. For example, if you overextended yourself to a department store, it may be eager to keep your business and may remove a problematic notation.
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If you’re checking your credit report regularly, you should be looking for more than your credit score. You should also check for mistakes on your credit report and make sure all the information is accurate. If you find a mistake on your credit report, you will want to file a dispute with the three credit reporting bureaus. By law, the credit reporting bureaus are required to address your dispute within 30 days. Sometimes the credit reporting agency can come to a quick resolution, but other times, it may take longer to come to an agreement with the lender. Either way, watch your credit report very carefully for any false information and file a dispute immediately.
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