Credit Bureaus - First Place To Go To Stop Identity Theft

With all the advanced technology available to them, bad guys are increasingly turning to identity theft as a way to rip you off. Identity theft is when someone takes and inappropriately uses the personal and financial information of another person for his or her own personal gain. Identity thieves typically put hefty charges on a stolen credit card or commit crimes in another person's name. This causes the victim a lot of trouble and time, in some cases years, to sort out.

Although this new crime trend can be worrisome, there are several steps that one can take to ensure that their personal data is safely guarded from identity thieves. One of the easiest ways to protect your credit is to regularly check your credit score with the credit bureaus.

Under a new law that has recently been enacted, the three main credit bureaus must allow me to check my credit score for free at a minimum of once per year. They also will allow you to check your credit score ratings, but often at a nominal fee. Your credit report will allow you to see all accounts that have been opened in your name. If anything looks amiss, you are allowed to dispute these findings at no extra charge to you.

Monitoring your credit with the credit bureaus is a first step only, though. Another important step which can easily be implemented is to shred any important documents before throwing them out. Identity thieves have been known to sift through potential victims' garbage for usable information, so make sure your garbage doesn't contain any.

One of the best ways to avert identity theft is to carry as little identification on your person as possible. It is especially crucial to protect your social security number, so make sure you never carry your card with you. The best place for it is at home, in a fireproof safe. If your identification is ever stolen from you, the less thieves can take from you, the better.

Finally, it is important to write down and keep safe the account numbers of all your bank accounts and credit cards. If you also record all of the telephone numbers to the places where you do financial business it will help quicken the process of documenting felony, preventing criminal acts that would be detrimental to your credit.

Identity theft is on the rise, but you can do a lot to protect yourself from becoming a victim. Regularly contact credit bureaus to check my credit score. Credit score ratings can usually be obtained as well for a small fee. Shred any documents containing personal information before disposing of them. Carry as little personal identification on you as possible, and always leave your social security number in a safe place at home. Keep a record of all account numbers and banking information, as well as contact numbers. Acting quickly to notify your financial institutions of potential identity theft can save your credit.

- Daniel Lesser