Reviewing Your Credit Report
If you are a consumer looking to perform credit monitoring on your own, then you will be looking over your credit reports with a scrutinizing eye. Identity theft can show up on a consumer’s credit report in several different ways; therefore understanding what to look for is crucial in identifying identity theft effectively. In a consumer’s credit report there are a few main sections known as the consumers profile, credit history, credit accounts, public records and inquiries section. All of these sections should be looked over carefully when performing credit monitoring. Some things to consider are:
Consumer Profile
In this section a consumer’s name, date of birth, social security number, address, current and previous employers and previous addresses are listed. Often this section will include other names the consumer is known by as well. In this section a consumer should look for any misspelled names and what accounts they are associated with. Often identity thieves will misspell the name of a consumer. After all, it is not their name. Look for any address changes that are not addresses you have resided at and even look for employers that you have not worked at.
Credit History and Accounts
In this section of a credit report you will find information regarding past and present accounts in your name. There will be information on the creditor, balance due (if any) and length of credit history with that particular account. This section will also include payment history on these accounts and any late payments will show up here as well.
This section is the most important section of a consumer’s credit report. Often when performing credit monitoring, new accounts will show in this section that the consumer has not opened themselves. It is important for a consumer to report any fraudulent accounts immediately when they notice them in this section. Along with new accounts, often higher balances or late payments on existing accounts can show in this section as well. If the larger balances and late payments on accounts are not something you have done on your own accord, report them immediately.
Public Records
In the public records section of a consumers report there will be information regarding bankruptcies, judgments and liens in the consumer’s name. Though rare, some forms of identity theft can show up on this section. There have been cases where an identity thief will file bankruptcy under a consumers name or let an account go into judgments, though majority of the time a consumer can find this information in their credit section prior to it going that far.
Credit Inquiries
The credit inquiries section of a consumers credit profile will indicate when and what companies where accessing a consumers credit. There are two forms of inquiries: hard and soft. A hard inquiry is a request to actually extend credit (i.e. auto loans, credit cards, etc). When performing credit monitoring on your own, this section should be heavily monitored. If you note any inquiries that were not done so by yourself or with your permission, immediately contact the creditor accessing your credit and find out why they were to begin with.
A consumer can perform credit monitoring on their own and detect identity theft quickly. By understanding a credit report and the information it contains, consumers can be that much faster at identifying fraudulent information.