Identity Theft
Identity theft
happens when someone else uses your credit information in order to
purchase something or perform criminal activities using your name and
other information. Identity theft has a major impact on the
victim in terms of financial and credit status. The victim may even be
arrested for the crime he or she did not commit hence damaging his or
her reputation badly. Recovering from identity theft also takes time
when it comes to credit standing thus affecting your FICO score.
Overall, identity theft has to be stopped or prevented whenever possible
in order to avoid undergoing such circumstances.
How to Recognize the Early Signs
In
order to prevent identify theft you must be able to recognize the early
signs by checking your credit reports periodically. Credit monitoring
allows you to spot errors in your bank or credit card statements. The
first warning sign are some inaccurate or unexplained purchases,
withdrawal, electronic transactions, or check in which you don’t
recognize when checking your credit report either online or through the
statements.
Aside from inaccurate
information and errors on your statement, another clear sign is when
your account is flagged by your bank. You will be receiving phone calls
or emails from your bank in order to notify you regarding the
irregularity on your account. Furthermore debt collectors will be
calling you regarding unpaid purchases that you are not aware of.
Lastly, you will be receiving a warrant out for your arrest for crimes
which you do not know about.
How to Prevent Identity Theft
Preventing
identity theft starts by being careful with your financial information.
This includes keeping your passwords safe and making sure they are not
easily guessed. Using your birthday as your pin is highly discouraged.
The next thing to do is to protect your computer. Make sure you’re
careful when using computers in cafés since there might be software such
as key loggers and spyware in order to record your financial
information. When shopping online, make sure you are paying through a
secured channel.
Furthermore, subscribing in a good credit monitoring service
is a good way to spot the early warning signs. If you can spot the
warning signs, then you can easily stop identify theft by alerting your
bank or freezing your accounts. Various credit monitoring reports will
be sent to you monthly so you can easily track your financial
activities.
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Source: http://www.bestcreditreports.com/blog/
Source: http://www.bestcreditreports.com/blog/
