Posts tagged ‘credit fraud’

Credit Repair Advice – A Guide to Locating the Best Online Credit Repair Resources

Credit Repair Advice – A Guide to Locating the Best Online Credit Repair Resources

Day by day the number of people with bad credit rating is increasing. The reasons for the same are namely medical reason, credit fraud and are the victim of economic slowdown etc. Let it be any reason for the bad credit score but it is our responsibility to increase our credit score with time. Whatever has happened in the past should be used as experience so that it does not happen in future. The credit repair advice is crucial in building your credit score. You should know from whom you are taking advice whether he/she is the right person for the same.

When you are trying to locate the credit repair firm online then you should be more cautious as online is the place where fraudulent firms cheat people and hide behind web. Some of the points to help you to find the genuine credit repair advice:

1. The first and the foremost alarm is when they ask for your personal details which you feel are confidential to you. This should raise an alarm for you. The genuine and legitimate credit repair firms never ask any confidential information. They will just ask name, address and other basic information.

2. You should find and try to visit the physical office of the credit repair firms. The fraudulent firms only hide in the web. Any legitimate firm has an office. You should visit if it is in same town or city.

3. The employees of the firms are the one who will take up your case. Find out their experience and qualification.

4. Contact the existing or the previous costumers of the credit repair firms and ask their experiences. The testimonials can be used for the same reason. You can find out the review for any credit repair firms these days. This will help you to distinguish between the fraud and genuine firm.

The credit repair advice helps in improving the credit score. This will not happen in a day or week. It will take time and gradually your credit score will improve with time. Do not repeat the same mistakes which you did in your past.

Many people are unaware that the credit report can be used as a tool to erase bad credit. This can result in a boost to your score by a possible 200 points. Many negative items found on credit reports are disputable and can be removed legally to erase bad credit. Click the following link for free information on safe and legal ways to repair your credit:

Repair Bad Credit

William Roberts is an advocate for consumer rights and a member of organizations helping citizens rebuild their financial state.

How You Can Get Your Credit Report For Free (without any obligations)

You hear it all the time on TV, read it on the web, free credit report this and free credit report that. Of course, free never really means free does it? No. They will give you your free credit report only after signing up for one of their monthly credit monitoring services, which are usually a waste of money anyway. Did you know that you can get a free copy of your credit report from the credit bureau?

It is true. The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) requires each of the three major credit bureaus, Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion, to provide you with a free credit report once every year upon request. The keyword here is request, they won’t send it to you unless you ask. Make it a point to order your copies every year around the same time. Check each one for accuracy and signs of illicit activity.

To order your yearly credit report online, visit the website annualcreditreport.com or you can call their toll-free hotline at 1-877-322-8228.

Identity theft is a tough crime to fight, partly because the victim frequently doesn’t even know they have been victimized by a credit thief until months or years down the road. By then, the thief is long gone, and who knows what kind of trail they will leave, if any.

In this day and age, you have to be proactive instead of reactive when it comes to identity and credit fraud. Thieves count on you being lazy and lax with your financial records, don’t give them the upper hand. Check your credit report regularly.

UPDATE 10/28/09: I personally went to annualcreditreport.com and got each one of my three credit reports for NOTHING. While you only get one every 12 months, it is still really convenient. I downloaded mine and printed it out instantly. You don’t have to join anything or sign up for any service. They do give you the option to purchase your FICO score for $7.95 but you don’t have to, if not then just press the “No Thanks, Just The Report” button. The reason you never hear of this site is because they don’t advertise it. Makes sense I guess, probably a cost thing, and a fraud thing. Before entering info into ANY site, look at the browser address box and make sure you are at the site that you think you are at.