Reading Credit Reports

This article provides a more detailed guide to reading your credit report as referenced in Privacy Means Profit.

A credit report is a history of how you or your company borrow and then pay off your credit, including delinquency and bankruptcy. There are currently three main credit bureaus in the United States—Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. If you own a home, have a credit card, lease a car, or apply for or use credit of any sort, this information is reported to one, two or all three of these credit bureaus. In addition, they collect information on how timely you pay your bills, how often you are tardy, how frequently your credit is checked by companies and any changes of address, employment, or personal information.

By monitoring these reports closely, you will know when someone else is using your credit rating to their benefit. If an identity thief opens a new credit card or takes out a loan using your Social Security number, you will see it on your report. The quicker you spot the problem, the less trouble it will cause. Monitoring your credit report is the single most effective monitoring tool available to keep minor identity theft from turning into full-scale identity fraud.

Posted in Identity Theft by Identity Theft Speaker John Sileo.

Tags: Credit Freeze, credit history, credit reports, Equifax, Experian, identity theft expert, John Sileo, Order Credit Report, reading credit reports, TransUnion