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How To Repair Credit: Important Steps To Take After Identity Theft

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According to the Federal Trade Commission, it is estimated that 9 million Americans have their identities stolen every year.  If it has happened to you one of the first things you might what to know is how to repair credit once it’s been damaged by identity theft.

Tips On How To Avoid Identity Theft

Invest in a shredder.  Make sure you shred any document that has important information about yourself before you throw it into a garbage can.  This includes any bill you might have received, credit card applications that get thrown out as junk mail, or even banking statements.  A shredder is a cheap investment when compared to the time and money you will spend trying to figure out how to repair credit.
Use extra caution when checking your email.  Do not open emails from anyone you do not recognize, regardless of what the subject might say.  Do not respond to any email from a financial institution asking for confidential information about you.  Financial institutions do not conduct business in this way.
Be careful if you check online bank statements in public places.  If it is an absolute emergency, make sure you have properly logged out of the website and then clear the browser’s cache.

Once your identity has been stolen and you start putting together your plan of how to repair credit make sure to start checking your credit report quarterly to protect against additional fraud in your credit report.  

Your how to repair credit checklist should also include monitoring your credit card bills.  Make sure you go item by item through your credit card statement and verify that you were the one responsible for the charges and not a thief.

Pay close attention to bank statements as well.  Verify that all money withdrawn from you accounts was by you.  Check to make sure that there are no automatic deductions being made on your accounts that you do not know what it is.  

Before you need to know how to repair credit, focus on preventing the damage.  The easiest way to catch identity theft early is to just simply keep an eye on all of your accounts regularly.  Knowing what comes in and out of your bank accounts and what gets charged on your credit cards will send up a red flag the minute you see a transaction that is out of place.  Make sure to run your credit report a few times a year to confirm fraudulent loans have not been made in your name and that all credit cards listed belong to you.