Thank you, tommorow i’ll check my credit card.
Check your credit report to help protect your identity
by Sarah Orrill
10/12/10 in Identity Fraud/Theft |
We can’t escape the fact that identity fraud is on the rise but many of us seem to think an ostrich approach will protect us. The consequences of this could be emotionally and financially devastating; did you know in serious case of identity fraud, it can take up to 200 hours to repair your identity (National Fraud Authority October 2010)?
It is well documented that regularly checking your credit report is one of the most effective ways of spotting whether you’ve been a victim of identity fraud.
In order to dig a little deeper, CPP commissioned research to determine how many consumers are regularly checking their credit report and to also see how many have a poor credit rating as a consequence of identity fraud.
A poor credit rating could cost you money!
Our research showed that nearly 900,000 people have had their credit rating unfairly damaged by fraudsters; with 6% of 18-24 year-olds saying their bad rating was a consequence of their identity or passwords being stolen and used fraudulently. 48% said that a poor credit rating cost them money.The average monetary repercussion was £7,164; with individuals losing out on low interest credit cards and loans, having to pay higher rating of interest on a mortgage, refused a mortgage, having to pay for credit checks and lost earnings.
A poor credit rating could be bad for your health!
On average, it took people 409 days to resolve a poor credit rating. The impact of this was not just in terms of time and money but also emotionally. Our survey revealed that a poor credit rating had caused people high levels of stress, strained personal relationships, sleepless nights, and contributed to depression.
Check your credit report
When we asked people how often they used a credit report to check for unusual transactions, only 4% said they checked it on a monthly basis as recommended by experts. More worryingly, over half said they had never checked their credit report and 4% admitted that they didn’t even know what a credit report is.
Given a credit report is one of the best tools for spotting identity fraud; its worrying that consumers are not using credit reports as a means of fraud prevention and as a tool in the step to manage one’s identity.
Experian reported earlier this year that 61% of victims of identity theft found out through accessing their credit report (Experian, March 2010), so if we are to take personal responsibility for keeping our identities, safe we need to start using the tools available to us.
For more information about your credit report and how keeping informed can help you prevent identity theft then take a look at our online research document: Credit Reports – managing the risk of identity fraud.
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MichaelShelby 26/09/11
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Janesa 18/12/11
Gosh, I wish I would have had that information earleir!
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