Identity Theft and Credit Reports

Filed in archive on November 11, 2005

Identity theft is a growing problem in the United States. Identity theft is when someone steals your name and other information for their own purposes. There are many ways to combat identity theft and prevent it. One of the most effective ways of knowing if your identity has been stolen is a credit report. In the U.S. you are entitled to a free credit report once a year. If you lose your purse, wallet or credit card you will probably see the charges of someone else using your credit card on your monthly statement. But you can't tell if the thief has opened a new charge account in your name. You might not even notice this until you apply for a loan or mortage ang get turned down because you have bad credit. Because of this a credit report is the only way to find out if your identity has been stolen. There are many agencies you can pay to get a credit report. But thanks to a new law you can order a free credit report to be delivered every four months. You should get a report from a different company every four months because each company might have slight, but important changes. A credit report is one of the easiest ways to fight identity theft. It is incredibly easy and free to order a credit report from one of the following companies.

Equifax

Experian

TransUnion.

This article is sponsored by Creative Reporter Logan.