How Do You Know if Someone Has Used Your Credit to Obtain a Loan?

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Article Title: How Do You Know if Someone Has Used Your Credit to Obtain a Loan?
Author: Court Tuttle
Category: Loans, Personal Finance, Personal Finance
Word Count: 480
Keywords: federal student loans, stafford loans, credit cards
Author's Email Address: resources@courtneytuttle.com
Article Source: http://www.articlemarketer.com
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Having your identity stolen is a big deal. Many people perhaps may not think so, but a lot of bad things can happen to you, just because someone knows enough about you to pretend to BE you. If someone else has access to your identity, or rather your personal information such as your social security number, driver's license information, and bank account information, they have the ability to cause a lot of damage to your good credit, take out loans in your name, and heap a huge load of debt upon you that you don't even deserve.

When you think you are having trouble with identity theft, there are a few things you can do to ensure that it does not go any further than it already has. It is best to catch it before it starts, but it is possible to stop it if it has already begun. Here are a few hints to watch for when looking for signs of potential identity theft.

Existing credit card statements or loan statements will show actions on them that you did not take. They will reveal any withdrawals that are made, and if you watch carefully, you will be able to descern your withdrawals from those you did not make. If you find any actions that you do not remember taking yourself, contact the lender and have them give you more detail on it so that you may know for sure that it is not yours.

Lending agencies may call you to let you know that you got approved for a loan that you did not even apply for. Getting contacted by a loan officer who says you spoke with him or another earlier before applying for a loan is obviously a red flag, and immediate action should be taken. It is very fortunate, however, that they called you, instead of the person who may have been trying to get the loan in your name.

Prevention is the best solution in this matter. The better you can protect yourself from identity theft, the more chance you stand of catching it before it even happens. Here are a few things you can do to keep identity thieves out of your hair.

Keep track of your loans and your credit card accounts. Make sure you know just how much you spent and when you spent it so that when the statement comes, you can easily tell whether or not all of the transactions are rightfully yours. This will help you catch any potential threats earlier.

Check your credit report. Getting a copy of your credit report frequently shows that you're monitoring your credit. Because you are doing this, you can find out when and how much your credit score may go down because of loans you don't know you had, or problems occuring with existing loans.

Court helps people to learn about how to apply for business credit cards. You can read more of his work by visiting: http://whalehookloans.com.

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