As identity theft is becoming more common and a greater issue, you need to know what steps you can take to help protect your identity and your credit.

Click here for a Protect Yourself Checklist

1.  "Opt Out"!  Opting Out, means that you are notifying a company that you do not want your personal information shared or sold.  The 3 major credit bureaus ALL sell your personal information; which is why you receive credit card offers in the mail.....probably daily!

You can go to www.optoutprescreen.com and submit one request online that will notify all 3 of the major credit bureaus that you choose to "opt out" from having your information sold or shared for a period of 5 years.  You also have the option to print a form, sign it and mail it in; which will allow you to "opt out" for life.

Personally, I highly recommend that you "opt out" for life.  There is no reason to take a risk with having offers for credit sitting in a mailbox or being handled by people that you do not know.  If you need a credit card, you can do an online search and find all of the card offers available, what their rates and fees are and all of their terms so that you can evaluate all options side-by-side!

2.  Check your credit report on a regular basis!

        a.  At a minimum, you should take advantage of the FREE credit reports that the 3 major bureaus are required to give you on an annual basis.  You can access your FREE reports at:

www.annualcreditreport.com   *** This is the ONLY site that truely gives you a FREE credit report.  All other sites that claim "Free" are actually going to require that you register for a monthly monitoring service in exchange for one "free" credit report. 

You do have the ability to select only one credit bureau at a time...in other words, you could request the TransUnion report in January, the Experian report in May and the Equifax report in September; which lets you spread them out over a year.  You can request each report ANNUALLY.

        b.  If you are preparing to buy a new home or refinance; I do recommend that you check your credit and your scores (the bureaus do all charge a fee to give you the scores....only the report is free) in advance of starting a Loan Application.  If you find an error or have your Loan Officer review your report, you may find ways to improve your scores; which may help to save you money!

       c.  If you have had credit issues or problems, you may want to pay for a service that monitors your credit (they do charge a monthly fee) and notifys you when there are inquiries or changes to your credit.

3.  Do not provide your account passwords to ANYONE you do not know!

4.  Do not donate money over the phone to a solicitor who has called you without asking them to contact you!

5.  Use a locking mailbox OR a Post Office Box.  Having your mail sit in an unsecured mailbox is like giving a thief the key to your front door!