Before discussing how to protect your identity, let’s first define what it is. Your identity is the information that is tied to your Social Security Number, which in turn reflects on your credit. This is why you must take great care in protecting your identity.
Consider a case where you get a line item in your credit report stating you have cleared a credit check for a loan. But, you may wonder whether you have even authorized this credit check. If you have not authorized one and a credit check has happened, then you might be a victim of identity theft. There are many problems associated with identity fraud. Sometimes this can lead you into legal battles – sometimes even legal actions may be taken against you for a crime that you have not committed.
How Does Identity Fraud Happen?
Let’s use a very simple example. If a fraudulent person has bad credit attached to his ID, he may try to falsify his identity and pose as a person who has a good credit. After the credit check, this person might be issued a line of credit in your name. In addition, if the person commits a crime, it can affect you since that person has used your identity. This is how identity fraud happens in the U.S.
How Can You Prevent It?
Most of us never take care to look at our credit report even once a year. An identity check can be really tricky if you do not sign up for a service. Obviously you can’t look up your credit history every month and see what changes have happened. Hence, signing up for a service is critical. These companies check your credit reports on a periodic basis (without affecting your credit rating) and send you periodic warnings about any changes. If you have not authorized a particular transaction and see it in the report, it’s quite likely a sign that you are a victim of identity fraud.
Steps to Take if You’re a Victim
Not everyone takes responsibility and signs up for a service that can cost as little as $20 per month. Now, what would you do if you found out that you have been a victim of identity fraud? Typically you will have 30 days within which you can raise a red flag and alert the company who is responsible for establishing the fraudulent record. They will cross-check and report back to you with their observations.
If it has been more than 30 days or if the company is not ready to remove the record, legal actions are the only way to deal with this. Hence, it is far better to protect your identity by signing up with a reliable service provider.
