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You’ve probably seen the commercials-you know the ones with the catchy band playing in a seafood restaurant dressed up as pirates, or in the parent’s basement or at the renaissance fair.  Hopefully by now you’re thinking “free credit report.” 

Many people don’t even think about their credit score until they need to utilize it for financing. It is best to take preventative action in the security of your identity by reviewing your credit annually.

Just the other day I had a client in to discuss the possibly of refinancing their loan. While reviewing the credit report one of the accounts just didn’t seem right. The next day my client stopped by to thank me, it turns out his identity was stolen, and some credit cards were maxed out. Additional accounts were already opened by the thief but no charges were posted to them yet. My client was able to cancel the cards with a zero balance and have his credit file flagged for fraud.

Basically the fraud alert is attached to the credit report through the three major credit bureaus, Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. With the fraud alert, there are extra precautions in regards to a credit account being opened in your name, such as a credit card, car loan, cell phone or store credit cards.

Identity theft and fraud is not just limited to adults- minors can have their identity stolen as well. Since the reporting agencies don’t normally maintain credit files for minors, the process of reporting suspected fraudulent activity is a bit more documented, you may also want to inform law enforcement as well.

Be an aware consumer and put the safeguards in place to keep your identity yours.