Monitor your Credit - It's Important By FederatedCreditCards.Com Copyright © 2008

Simply put, effective and strategic credit monitoring prevents one of the most popular crimes in the world today: identity theft. Identity theft is a fast growing crime, largely because so many people are making it easy for thieves to get their hands on personal information. Identity theft doesn't only happen when your credit card or identification card gets stolen, but also when someone gains knowledge of your personnel information such date of birth, Social Security number, and even your name. People can use this information to open credit card accounts, obtain loans, or drain bank accounts.

To protect yourself against identity theft, you should consider storing all your personal information in a very safe place. Do shred any documents with personal information before disposing of them. Also, never give your personal information to anyone, unless you are sure they are a legitimate service or company. Identity theft is very good reason to check your credit report often to make sure you haven't been a victim. You can also enroll in a credit monitoring service, which will alert you to new changes in your existing credit accounts and very importantly will alert you to new accounts opened with your personal information.

The other primary reason for monitoring your credit is to be aware of any inaccurate information that appears on your report and dispute it quickly. Negative information will be considered by lenders and credit card companies and can lower your credit score. A lower credit score can mean you will pay higher interest rates or possibly have your application for a credit card, loan, or mortgage completely rejected. Federal law allows you to receive a free copy of your credit report from each of the three major credit reporting companies. Please visit this article for details Getting free copies of your credit report.