How Long Does It Take To Recover From Identity Theft?
The average identity theft case takes 26 hours to resolve, but you may be dealing with the effects of identity theft for several years. If someone has used your social security number or other personal information to create a synthetic or false identity, chances are they have used your personal…
What To Do If You Find Mistakes On Your Credit Report
If you're checking your credit report regularly, you should be looking for more than your credit score. You should also check for mistakes on your credit report and make sure all the information is accurate. If you find a mistake on your credit report, you will want to file a dispute with the three…
Common Credit Mistakes That Lower Your Credit Score
Do you know what kind of credit mistakes are lowering your credit score? Common mistakes may be dragging down your credit score and you may not even know what you're doing. Keep your credit card balance below 50 percent of your available credit. If you max out your credit cards every month you may…
Should You Use A Credit Monitoring Service?
Do you need a credit monitoring service? You can pull your credit report once a year for free from each of the three credit reporting bureaus from AnnualCreditReport.com, but you might want to monitor your credit more frequently. If you feel that you are at risk for identity theft, your personal…
What Kind of Accounts are on Your Credit File?
Ever wonder what magical formula credit reporting bureaus use to figure out your credit score? It's not random, certain accounts are on your credit file and other accounts aren't. Things like utility payments and gambling debts aren't on your credit history, but anything from a financial institution…
Protect Yourself From Identity Theft With a Credit Freeze
A proactive way to prevent identity theft is to freeze your credit file with the three credit reporting bureaus, Equifax, TransUnion and Experian. Freezing your credit file means no one can open a new account. It does not close your exisitng lines of credit, but it means that no one can open a new…
How Credit Scores Impact Mortgage Applications
How do credit scores impact mortgage applications? Credit scores measure debt and your ability to pay back loans. Especially today, your credit score will determine your mortgage and interest rate. What credit score should you have and how can you improve your credit score and get the best interest…
What's My Credit Score And How Do I Raise It?
Before you even think about buying a home, you should ask yourself two questions: "What's my credit score?" and "How do I raise it?" Knowing your credit score will help you negotiate a good interest rate on your mortgage, and if you can raise your score, you'll get a loan with a lower interest rate…
Has your child's identity been stolen? While identity theft is often committed by strangers, sometimes parents and other relatives steal the financial identities of children to get access to more credit.
If you're worried about identity theft, there are ways you can protect yourself. And if you know the signs, you can stop identity theft sooner. One of the best ways to protect your identity is to order your credit report annually from annualcreditreport.com.
