Trusted Regina Blog | All posts tagged 'identity theft'

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June is Credit Score Month and our Trusted Regina Lawyer Robert MacKay of Mackay and McLean want's to help you understand the importance of your credit score.

It’s often the first indicator that you are an identity theft victim. If you find names you don’t recognize, Social Insurance numbers that don’t belong to you, or accounts that aren’t yours, you might be a fraud victim. Credit reporting companies can help you stop credit fraud and prevent future misuse of your identity.

Here are 5 reasons to check your credit score:

It’s free. Never pass up a freebie, especially when it can affect your financial health and well-being. Your credit report plays an important part in your credit transactions and many other financial relationships. Get your annual credit report.
It’s an important step in rebuilding and maintaining good credit. Reviewing your credit report periodically will help you make sure it is in good shape when you are ready to apply for new credit and enable you to monitor your progress if you are recovering from past credit problems.
It’s an important part of managing your personal finances. You should review your credit report just like you do your bank statements and credit card bills. Managing credit, keeping track of spending and putting aside savings are all essential to being financially successful.
It’s often the first indicator that you are an identity theft victim. If you find names you don’t recognize, Social Security numbers that don’t belong to you, or accounts that aren’t yours, you might be a fraud victim. Experian and the other national credit reporting companies can help you stop the credit fraud and prevent future misuse of your identity.
It’s the first step in correcting any information you feel is inaccurate. The vast majority of the time people find everything is accurate. But if you do find something wrong, your personal credit report comes with instructions for submitting disputes and contact information including a toll-free telephone number, Internet address and mailing address.

Make sure your credit information accurate.

Your credit score is a reflection of the information in your credit report. Checking your credit score can give you an indication as to whether your credit report is accurate. If your credit score is lower than you expect, it could be a sign that your credit report contains errors that need to be disputed with the credit bureaus.

Add a fraud alert

A fraud alert, or identity verification alert, tell lenders to contact you and confirm your identity before they approve any applications for credit. The aim is to prevent any further fraud from happening.

Ask the credit bureaus to put a fraud alert on your credit report if:

you've been a victim of fraud
your wallet has been stolen
you've had a home break-in

You may need to provide identification and a sworn statement to prove that you've been a victim of fraud.

You can set up a fraud alert for free with Equifax. TransUnion charges a fee of $5 plus taxes to set up a fraud alert.

A strong credit profile and reasonable debt ratio are equally important if you want the best mortgage rates and terms.

For advice, Robert MacKay's team provides professional, personalized service and with their assistance, you can rest assured that your real estate transactions will be handled with the utmost consideration and care.

They provide a full range of legal services including: