How to Check Your Credit Report for Identity Theft

Checking your credit report for identity theft is prudent these days since identity theft is on the rise in America. When you are going to check your credit report, you'll need to know what all of those numbers mean and also what to look for.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

1. Order a copy of your consumer credit report from the three major credit agencies. These credit bureaus are Experian, Equifax and TransUnion. Every year you are allowed to receive a free credit report by law. If you have internet access, you can order yours online by going to: http://www.annualcreditreport.com. You will be asked for identifying information, so be precise in what you input.
2. Look over your credit report when you receive it. The credit file is usually divided into sections, starting with the identity information. Make sure that you go over all of your personal information that is being reported, making sure of its accuracy. Things to look for are your name, obviously, and address, social security number and date of birth. Note any changes in these because it could signal identity theft.
3. Check your credit history. This section is normally called tradelines, but is basically a history of any open accounts that report such things as payment history, date opened and current balance. Take notice of all open accounts and be sure to look for any suspicious new accounts that may have been opened without your permission. Its not unusual to have two listings with the same creditor, so don't worry over that. Also, make sure that any credit card limits haven't been recently raised, if so, call and check with the company.
4. Skim over any collection accounts that have recently appeared or ones in which you are unaware. This is an excellent example of why its so important to check your credit report for identity theft, because if someone has racked up bills that have been turned into collection agencies, you may not be notified right away. Checking this will ensure the identity theft be caught and stopped before it goes too far financially.
5. Go to the bottom of your credit report and look at the recent inquiries. The last 24 months will be listed for you to see if they are all legitimate or initiated by you. Some businesses check your credit to qualify you for pre-approval offers and they will be classified as 'soft' inquiries. Those aren't ones that you should consider to be done by an identity thief. If you want to stop those pre-approved offers, call the reporting bureau and they will assist you in removing yourself from the list.