Identity Theft! It’s on the rise. Besides being a huge inconvenience, it can be expensive too—what, with the lawyers, the ruined credit, and the numerous calls trying to convince the authorities you didn’t buy a yak in Bolivia… Good news! There is a way for you to become aware of suspicious activities on your credit history, and better yet it’s (wait for it)…FREE!!!
Everyone is entitled to receive a free credit report once every 12 months from each of the three nationwide consumer credit reporting companies: Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. The report will show information, such as loans, credit cards, and bank accounts in your name. Don’t get jipped by those internet companies that want to charge you for your free report. Go to www.annualcreditreport.com and just follow the instructions. You can get your report within minutes. It’s really easy, fast, and (wait for it)…FREE to do! A good strategy is running one report every 4 months. This allows you to check your credit history throughout the year and look for anything that doesn’t belong there. Smart, huh?!
One time I obtained my credit report and found some stranger’s car loan on it! Thankfully, it was NOT a case of identity theft, and the guy had been paying his loan on time, otherwise, it would have affected my credit score. (By the way, he must have gotten a pretty swank car because the loan was for $50,000 bucks!) I promptly notified the credit reporting company of the error. Oh—and I also asked for the guy’s phone number. (He’s a bachelor with a nice car and pays his bills on time. Don’t judge me!) Of course, they didn’t give me the digits, but, within 10 days, the loan was taken off my credit history. So it was certainly worth my time to obtain my free credit report…though it really, REALLY would have been worth it had I gotten a date out of the deal too…*sigh*
Oh well. Enough about me spending my Friday nights eating Häagen Daz with my cat because of the stupid credit card company’s lame privacy laws. Be proactive and protect your credit, Cheapskate-A-Holics! There’s no reason not to get your credit report since it’s (wait for it)…convenient. Just kidding! It’s free, free, FREE!!!!
(Photo by: SimonQ錫濛譙 / Foter: License)
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