Check your credit report now

If you were looking for another nudge to pull your credit report and help protect yourself against fraud and identity theft, we’ve got just the thing. There’s been LOTS of talk in recent news about data breaches, cyber security, social security numbers stolen, identity theft, fraud, scams, credit monitoring services, credit reports, credit scores, etc. Here’s a Readers Digest version: 

• The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced that Equifax has agreed to pay up to 700 million to settle the lawsuit from their September 2017 data breach that exposed personal info of 147 million people.
• The FTC reminds us to be weary of scammers calling, emailing, and setting up fake websites claiming to be related to the Equifax data breach in an attempt to get your personal info and/or collect a payment.
• Capitol One announced their data breach has exposed personal info of 106 million of its credit card customers and applicants in the US and Canada.  
• Scammers are calling pretending to be the Social Security Administration saying your SSN has been suspended. They then ask you to confirm your SSN and/or send money in order to “reactivate” it.

Whether or not you were affected by either data breach or scam, it’s time to be proactive about monitoring your personal credit information. Now is the time to check your credit report for FREE using www.annualcreditreport.com. Here’s how and why it’s so, so, so important: 

PRO TIP: You and your spouse (if applicable) are allowed one free credit report per year from each of the three credit reporting bureaus. So, to keep tabs on our credit all year long, I pull one report every two months. I set reminders in my cell phone that alert me to remember. Example:

• January = My Experian Report
• March = Husband’s Experian Report
• May = My Transunion Report
• July = Husband’s Transunion Report
• September = My Equifax Report
• November = Husband’s Equifax report.

This helps us keep tabs on our personal and shared accounts, monitor for fraud, and correct any errors. 
One more thing: the data breach is a frenzy for scammers who will call, text, email, and create fake websites pretending to be credit monitoring companies who can help “protect you” for a fee. Just remember, a legit site WILL NOT ASK for a credit card number or your full social security number. (FYI-Equifax will ask you for the last 6 digits of your social and your last name to tell you whether or not your information was compromised). It is free to sign up for the free credit monitoring available to victims of these data breaches. And the government WILL NEVER call you to ask you to confirm your SSN. If you get contacted, hang up and report it to the FTC here: www.ftc.gov/complaint

References: 
www.ftc.gov    
www.ftc.gov/equifax