Most Effective Ways to Safeguard Your Credit
Navigating the world without good credit is and costly and inconvenient. Poor credit can prevent the purchase of a home, car, or the ability to get a credit card. Even if those things could still be accomplished, it’s far more expensive when your credit is poor. Poor credit can even limit your employment opportunities.
Poor credit can either be self-induced or due to identity theft. Electronic storage of personal information has potentially made it easier for criminals to access personal information. Here are the most effective ways to safeguard your credit:
Monitor regularly – Check your credit reports from all three bureaus (Equifax, Experian, TransUnion) at least annually through annualcreditreport.com. Each bureau will provide a free report once a year.
Enable fraud alerts – Set up notifications for new account openings or suspicious activities. Contact one credit bureau, you only need to place a fraud alert with one of the three major credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian, or TransUnion). They are required to notify the other two. Secure your smartphone, tablet, laptop, and other devices. The auto-lock function is annoying to deal with, but provides a good layer of protection. Keeping your anti-virus software up to date is recommended.
Use strong, unique passwords – For all financial accounts and enable two-factor authentication. Use sophisticated passwords and only log on to your personal. Ensure your online accounts are secure. Public internet access points are not secure.
Freeze your credit – A credit freeze (also called a security freeze) is one of the strongest tools for protecting your credit from identity theft. It restricts access to your credit report, making it nearly impossible for identity thieves to open new accounts in your name. When frozen, lenders and creditors cannot view your credit report unless you specifically lift the freeze. You must contact each bureau separately in order to place a credit freeze. You’ll need to provide personal information including name, address, DOB, and Social Security number. When applying for new credit, you’ll need to temporarily lift the freeze. A Temporary unfreeze is done for a Specific time period. Single creditor unfreeze will grant access to a specific company. Permanent removal will completely remove the freeze.
Practice financial hygiene – Pay bills on time, keep balances low, and limit new credit applications.
Protect personal information – Be cautious about sharing your SSN, account numbers, or other sensitive data. Be smart, only provide personal or financial information to those you have to.
Review statements monthly for unauthorized charges
Use secure networks for financial transactions and avoid public Wi-Fi for banking. Be careful shopping online. Stick to websites you know are reputable and ensure the website uses the necessary encryption measures to protect your information. If the website address begins with ‘https’ and has a padlock symbol, you should be okay.
Shred financial documents before discarding them. Picking through the trash is perhaps the most common method of gathering information. Use a paper shredder to shred documents that contain personal information. Shred documents that contain personal information.
Be vigilant about scams – Don’t respond to unsolicited requests for personal information via email, phone, or text.
Taking proactive steps now can prevent the significant time and effort required to restore compromised credit later.