You have always prided yourself on meeting your financial obligations. Those obligations consisted of making credit card payments prior to their due date, having only a few credit cards, taking advantage of low interest rates because of your responsible actions, etc.

Recently you’ve noticed that a few strange things have been going on and you’re wondering if you’ve been an identity theft victim. You’ve been receiving some phone calls from debt collectors, a credit card has arrived in the mail that you didn’t request or maybe you’ve even been turned down for a revolving charge card because you didn’t make payments on something else.

These things may be pointing to the fact that you’ve become a victim of identity theft. If you think this may have happened, there are a couple of things that you need to do right away, such as notifying fraud departments, check your credit report and definitely report your situation to the police.

Report the Problem to Fraud Departments

If you’ve become an identity theft victim, the first thing you need to do is report it to the fraud department of the three credit bureaus. They are Experian, Equifax and Transunion. You can choose to report just to one of the bureaus as they will pass it on to the others so that they are all aware.

As soon as the credit bureau is notified of the identification theft, they will flag the accounts of the person. When accounts are flagged, the potential creditors will have to call the person applying for credit personally.

If you’ve reported your identity theft, as a victim you can expect your personal account to be flagged for 90 days. After the flagging you will be notified that this has been done and given a list of other rights for victims.

After you’ve received this information you can obtain a free copy of your credit report. It’s also strongly advised that you make a formal request to the three credit bureaus that your account be flagged form the usual 90 days to 7 years.

After receiving the credit reports it is very important that the victim examines the reports closely to determine if any fraudulent activity has occurred. If it is determined that such actions exist, the victims of identity theft should writing the credit bureaus informing them of that activity. Once that activity has been reported, the credit bureaus are obligated under the law to suppress the reflection of this fraudulent activity to others who are authorized to look at the personal credit report.

Many people walk into a loan office completely oblivious to the daunting process that is ahead of them. Credit history, credit scores, APR, appraisal, closing costs and all the other terms that will come at you in a stack of forms are just words.

You may not understand them, or how they can affect the future that you are trying to prepare for by getting the loan in the first place. Read on to find out more about credit history.

All of your financial activities are collected into a record that is referred to as your credit history. The information in this record would include any prior loans, the payments you made on them, and whether or not you made those payments on a timely basis. Other information related to your credit is also part of your credit history. That would mean details of credit cards and any sort of credit lines you have taken out. The contents of your credit history are used by lenders and employers to decide whether or not they can count on you to make payments on future credit.

You can protect your future credit history by being aware of your transactions. Be careful about how often you apply for credit (and be discriminating about where you go for credit as well). Once you do have a credit line or a loan, be sure to always pay on time. If you think you may have problems then ask for a deferral BEFORE then you get behind.

Knowing your credit history can help protect your identity. People steal your personal information in order to steal monetary items. They pretend to be you to purchase automobiles, take out loans, or make other transactions. They leave without paying and leave you holding the bill. Using your credit history will help you catch any irregularities before they can take over your life.

If you are thinking about getting a loan, checking on your credit history several months before you actually apply for the loan can be extremely beneficial to you. This is because you will be able to see for yourself what negative aspects of your credit history, like overdue bills, that might keep you from receiving the loan you want and you will thus be able to care for these negative things before you apply.

The first line of defense against identity theft and financial fraud is keeping good track of your financial history. Your credit history is also important because you will be directly judged in relation to it by a host of financial and business institutions. A good credit history is the key to a successful future.

Finding out how your credit history looks is easy today. There are free credit reports available through the FTA. Take some time to learn about how the credit history works and how yours stands up.