Your credit report can say a lot about you to a future creditor, landlord or even employer. There are many online tools that allow you to monitor and fix your credit to make sure that what your credit report is saying about you is accurate and up to date.
Thanks to the Fair Credit Reporting Act you are entitled to a free credit report once a year. AnnualCreditReport.com is the only official site for this free service. Keep in mind that while the report is free from each of the three credit bureaus, there is a fee to find out your credit score.
According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) 9 million Americans experience some form of identity theft each year. If someone is using your credit to open accounts, you can be certain that they won’t be making any payments. This could cause your credit to be riddled with delinquent accounts and you’ll end up owing money for items and services you never even knew you purchased. As a victim of identity theft, you’ll have to take several steps to clear your good name, including placing a fraud alert on your credit report, attempting to close the fraudulent accounts, and filing a police report.
Credit monitoring companies are proactive about identity theft protection. At the first sign of compromised personal information, the company will contact you and follow through in ensuring that your information remains secure. Most of these types of services monitor new accounts, credit inquiries, balance changes, name and personal information changes, and reactivation of inactive accounts.
One of the quickest ways to improve your credit score is to fix errors. SmartCredit.com is a service that allows you to check your report and correct any mistakes quickly online. The site highlights items that have a damaging impact to your credit and allows you to effortlessly report corrections to the right place. Though it is a paid service, they do offer a short-term subscription that allows you to check for errors. If none are found, you are free to cancel within the five-day trial period.