How To Keep Your Identity and Credit History Safe
Monday, March 15th, 2010
Who is responsible for protecting your identity and credit history? Only you are responsible for making sure your personal information is safe. The best way to protect your credit is to check your credit regularly through AnnualCreditReport.com. If you discover any errors or mistakes, report the errors immediately so the banks and credit reporting bureaus can help resolve your credit disputes. If you do want to hire a credit monitoring service, make sure you use a service that will help prevent fraud, protect your personal information, and resolve any disputes.
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Credit scores, on the scale assigned by FICO, range from 300 to 850. Who has an 850 credit score and what canyou do to get one? Less than 1 percent of the population has a credit score above 800, so it’s very unlikely you will have an 850 credit score. However, if your credit score is above 720, you will probably still receive the best rates. Watch more credit and identity theft videos from Expert Real Estate Tips to learn how to raise your credit score.
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 credit reporting bureaus. By law, the credit reporting bureaus are required to address your dispute within 30 days. Sometimes the credit reporting agency can come to a quick resolution, but other times, it may take longer to come to an agreement with the lender. Either way, watch your credit report very carefully for any false information and file a dispute immediately.
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.