The year 2012 may have just started but if you still have credit card balances incurred from last year, you should definitely take action to pay off these debts at the soonest time.  Don’t wait until the first quarter or for another six months to pass by before paying off your credit card debt.

More importantly, don’t let your credit card bills pile up on your mail box before you start opening them.  Ignoring your debts will not make them go away and trying to hide from your creditors will not solve the problem.  The best thing to do is to face up to the challenge of debt repayment.
Continue reading…

Many consumers are warned against the threat of identity theft and are advised to take all the necessary precautions to protect their personal information.  But did you know that adults are not the only people are at risk?  Yes, even children are threatened by the crime of ID theft.

In fact, according to Experian, a major credit bureau, an estimated 500,000 cases of identity theft among children are reported each year.  If you are a parent, you should definitely be aware of this fact and take all preventive measures to safeguard your child’s personal information.
Continue reading…

Identity thieves devise many different ways to steal personal information and may use these information for committing various acts of crime.  For instance, some scammers today victimize people by offering instant debt relief or quick solution for people with bad credit.

You might come across debt relief agencies or credit counseling agencies that make unbelievable promises in exchange for a fee.  An agency may claim to give you instant bad credit fix so you can get approved for the loan you need or get access to loans with low interest rate.
Continue reading…

Everyone is entitled to receive one free credit report  from each of the three major credit bureaus (Experian, Equifax, TransUnion) annually. This is according to the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), a provision by the federal government to give consumers the opportunity to check their personal credit for free.

At the start of 2012, it’s good to request for your free annual credit report to make sure that all the details in your file are accurate.  You should be aware that the FCRA gives you the right to dispute errors in your credit report.  Errors can be an incorrect detail in your personal information, unauthorized charges or incorrect charges in your accounts, or outdated remarks such as a record of charge off, foreclosure or bankruptcy that is older than seven years.
Continue reading…

Parents often need to register a Social Security number for their child and provide this information when applying for benefits, tax deduction, medical coverage or other government services for their child.  However, parents should also be alerted about the fact that an increasing number of identity theft cases involve children’s SSNs.

Apparently, id thieves prefer to steal Social Security Numbers that belong to children since they don’t have credit history.  Thus, the crime may go undetected for many years until the child has grown up and is ready to apply for a loan or a job.
Continue reading…