Recognizing Identity Theft
In most cases, it is impossible to know when your identity has been stolen until the thieves make use of your personal information. There are a few things you can do to monitor your situation so you will know as soon as possible once your identity is stolen. This is important because many institutions have time limits on items that you can dispute, and it is always best not to let the situation get too far.
First, always check your existing financial statements carefully each month and make sure you are familiar with all the items listed. Be sure to look for suspicious activity such as transactions in towns you never visited, or even out-of-state. Most people also have a fairly regular pattern of spending each month, and an unusual store name should raise a red flag. If you do your banking online, you can check your activity anytime, and are able to monitor even more frequently than once a month. These steps will help you recognize unauthorized activity on accounts that you already have open.
Next, you should monitor your credit reports for any changes. You are allowed to get one free credit report every year from each of the three credit reporting agencies, Experian, Equifax and TransUnion. The best way to manage them is to get one every 4 months from a different agency, so that you space the free reports out over the year. To get your free reports, visit the website www.annualcreditreport.com. When looking over your report, look for accounts that you never opened yourself, both financial and for things like phone and other utilities. This is important because these accounts will usually be opened using a different address, so you have no other way of knowing they exist. You can sign up with a monitoring agency to get more frequent credit reports, but you should always be aware of all the details. These companies will charge a monthly fee, and some will only monitor one the three agencies.
- Understanding Credit:
