How Identity Theft Can Impact Your Credit File
Posted May 28th, 2010 and last modified July 12th, 2011Learn how identity theft can impact your credit history
Identity theft is a growing problem in Australia and indeed across the world. It seems that no matter how sophisticated we get at protecting our personal information there are always criminals who manage to steal personal data and use it to their own advantage. One of the biggest problems comes when an innocent victim attempts to get a line of credit, purchase a home, or procure a credit card only to get rejected because of the negative marks these thieves have made on their credit file.
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Your credit file contains all of your personal financial data. When you apply for any sort of credit it is the first place lenders look to determine if they want to do business with you and how much to charge in interest as well as the terms of your agreement. If you have a good credit file you will get lower interest rates and better terms. If, however, there are negative marks on your file even if they are mistakes, you will be saddled with higher interest rates or get rejected all together.
Lenders and credit card issuers are not in the business of checking your file for mistakes, they go with what is on the file to make their decision. It is up to you to make sure that all of the date contained in your credit file is correct. One of the ways to help make it easier is to set up an account alert with the major credit reporting agency, Veda Advantage. This service will let you know when there is activity on your credit file. If someone has stolen your identity you will know right away and can begin the process of stopping it.
How To Deal With Identity Theft On Your Credit File
Get a copy of your credit report – The major reporting agencies can provide a copy of your credit file to you. Get a copy and determine which activities are the result of identity theft.
Report the theft to the police - You will be required, and should, make a statement regarding the theft. Keep a copy of the police statement and get the EVENTS number from them. While it is difficult if not impossible for them to catch the perpetrators you will need this information to repair your credit file.
Send this information to your the credit providers and the credit reporting agencies – The process of dealing with identity theft is a long and challenging one. If you are unable to do it yourself you can hire a lawyer or other credit repair agency to handle the process for you.
No one should have to deal with identity theft on their credit file, but sadly it happens very often. You can protect yourself by keeping track of your credit cards and personal data as well as the information on your credit file. However, even with the best efforts identity theft can still happen. If it does you must act quickly to repair the damage and save your credit standing.
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