It’s easy to check your credit score, especially using a variety of online tools, but knowing what to do if you find something wrong on your credit report requires a bit of legwork that is worth the effort to help you protect your financial record.
First, by checking all three of the reporting agencies, you may find an error on just one. For example, one credit agency received an incorrect report of a credit union member as deceased, which certainly required a little effort to correct a credit report, but obviously made a big impact on a credit report. Look at all three agencies: Equifax, Experian, and Trans Union.
Second, know what your score means. Congratulations, your credit score is 715, but if you can improve it to 735 or 750, that can give you better options when it comes time to borrow. Your credit may be ideal for an auto loan, but if you’re planning for a 30-year mortgage, a little difference could mean a lot of savings in the long run. If you want to know how you can improve your score so you can plan for better interest rates of a larger line of credit, be sure to speak with a Dakota West loan officer at your local branch.
Third, if you’re young, start building credit sooner rather than later. If you have well-established credit and most of your debits are paid down, allow yourself to maintain lines of credit, even if you keep the balance paid off, to keep the credit rating you’ve worked hard to earn. Establishing credit and maintaining your credit go hand in hand to develop a long-term credit score that helps you reach your financial goals.
What Is Identity Theft And How To Prevent It
As we continue to share information about National Cyber Security Awareness Month, Dakota West wants to make sure our members are recognizing ways to help prevent identity theft, such as implementing a three-layer security to our online and mobile account access.
Our partners at Kasasa want to share tips on how to help prevent identity theft. While it may make sense to think avoiding the use of the Internet would reduce identity theft, there are still a variety of ways information can be compromised. More importantly, accessing your accounts online on a regular basis is more likely to help you notice when a transaction occurs that you did not authorize. The first line of defense for many users is having a frequent and regular review of your accounts, which is much easier to do using an online or mobile platform.
Reviewing your credit on a regular basis also helps you be aware of lines of credit that may be drawn in your name. This scam can also happen to other family members, such as young children or seniors. Helping our family members be aware of their personal finances by requesting a free annual credit report is another way to maintain control of you and your family’s personal finances.
Ethan Kobos, who is currently studying Cyber Security at the University of North Dakota recently shared with us one of the easiest/most common ways individuals can protect themselves from identity theft.
“By changing your password just once or twice a year, it can greatly reduce the chance that someone could acquire it. This does not mean to add a number on the end and start counting, create a full password from scratch. There are softwares that manage all your passwords and will create something that is hard to break, but you will not be able to remember easily.” If you don’t know where to begin looking for password software, Kobos suggests applications such as LastPass.com.
Learn more about National Cyber Security Awareness Month and how to protect your family’s finances at the National Cyber Security Awareness website, or reach out to Dakota West to find out how we are providing additional security for your debit and credit cards or how we are securing your online identity. Be sure to access your online accounts on a regular basis to maintain an active involvement in your personal finances and spending. We want to make sure you have the tools you need to be safe and secure online.
