Check Credit Report Regularly and Beware of Identity Theft

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All of us know the importance of credit report in our lives. Our credit report show us a breakdown of our credit spending over the past few years, including:

- Current and past credit status
- Total number of open and closed accounts
- If the balances of our accounts are current or overdue
- Credit inquires that we use when applying for a credit card or loan
- Credit card debt and payment history
- Credit score.

Your credit score is a number ranging from 330 to 830. The higher the number assigned to you, the better your credit is. It increases the chance of you obtaining a loan or credit account.

Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax are major credit bureaus collect, maintain, and distribute our credit information; although you can also get a free Credit Report Rating from Zopa Loans.

Your credit report is a great indicator as to whether you have been a victim of identity theft.

Identity theft is a criminal act wherein our personal financial information, supposed to be confidential, is obtained through illegal means and used for unauthorized purchases and transactions.

The most common forms of identity theft are the credit card fraud and bank fraud.

There are many things which can be done by you to prevent yourself from becoming a victim of identity theft.

The information from our credit report reflects our credit and consumer habits.

Verifying and frequently checking your credit report is a good means to make sure no one has obtained your identity.

Carefully examine your credit report looking specifically for the section dealing with inquiries against the report. Each time you apply for a credit card or personal loan a record is kept on your credit report. If there are records on your report that you do not recognise or an unusually high number of requests in a short period of time then you need to start asking why.

Contact the financial institutions listed and enquire as to when the loan or credit card application was process. If you think that this was not you, tell them immediately both over the telephone and in writing.

Be alert and always take the issue of identity theft as a serious threat to our good name. Make sure that your personal and financial information never get into the wrong hands.