Check Your Credit Report

Category: Finance, Credit.

According to a survey conducted by the Better Business Bureau, there were about, in 2006 9 million reported cases of ID theft which amounts to a staggering$ 56 billion.

Always remember that any of your personal information can be used against you. With the advancement of technology, these identity thieves are also advancing in skills and expertise. Your social security number, credit card, drivers license, bank account numbers, address, telephone number, date of birth and full name can be used to commit a crime or a fraud using your identity. Today, they have come up with more sophisticated ways on stealing personal information through the internet. In the past, identity thieves steal wallets or search trash bins to obtain all these valuable information. What can you do to protect yourself? 8 Ways to Protect Yourself from Identity Theft. Obtaining a copy of your credit report at least once a year will help you monitor the accuracy of your accounts.

Check Your Credit Report. Carefully examine if all transactions reflected on your credit report is correct. Check that all your personal details are correct as well. Check the record of your payments. If there is any misinformation on your credit report, contact the three major credit bureaus( Equifax, and TransUnion, Experian) right away and request that the errors you found be immediately corrected. If your wallet gets stolen, thieves can easily get a lot of personal information about you.

Do not carry all your credit cards and your important IDs in your wallet. Carrying one credit card should be enough to get through your purchases. Never provide your personal information through telephone, e- mail or the internet. In case, you do lose your wallet, do not waste a minute and notify your credit card issuers instantly. Identity thieves often use phone calls to get a persons Social Security Number or credit card numbers. However, be aware that legitimate lending companies and banks do not make verifications over the phone.

They often reason that the information is needed for verification purposes. You may also receive e- mails asking you to provide confidential information. Do not throw ATM receipts or shopping receipts in the trash. Bear in mind that legitimate companies never solicit such private information over unsecured channels. When you are using the ATM or shopping, always take the receipts with you. Just make sure you shred them into small pieces before putting them in the trash. You can throw these receipts when you get home.

Keep a close watch on your credit card. This is especially true in restaurants. When using credit card or debit card to pay for your bills, make sure that your card never gets out of your sight. Some waiters use skimmers or small devices that are used to get information from your credit card. Be aware about credit card bills or statement of accounts sent by post mail. If it is not possible to keep your credit card in sight, it is best to pay in cash.

If you have not received your state of account or bills for the month, call your lenders and inform them that you have not received anything in your mail. Do not write confidential information anywhere. This is a common scheme where thieves call the bank and ask for a change of address so that the true owner of the account will not be informed about his charges. For reference, you can list down all your personal information in a separate notebook kept in a secured place in your home. If a company asks you to provide your SSN, you may politely decline and explain your stand against identity theft. Do not provide your Social Security Number( SSN) unless it is extremely necessary. A legitimate company must be able to provide their customers a written policy about how they handle confidential information such as SSN.

If a company insists, take your business somewhere else. If a company does not have a Privacy Policy, you have every right to refuse. These are just some of the ways on how you can protect yourself from falling victim of identity theft. However, keep in mind that identity thieves are more cunning and are always on the alert, ready to victimize people who do not take these precautions. Some of these are simple steps that are often forgotten or neglected by many people.