Credit history information on your credit report is the main target of identity thieves.

Your full name, present and previous addresses, date of birth, SSN, details of your employer, the name of your spouse, employment history and income details on your credit report lets these despicable thieves create a phantom identity.

Using this information, they pose as the 'real' you and obtain credit cards in your name. They pile up debts, making purchases indiscriminately, using these bogus credit cards.

You are unaware of all this because the bills are sent not to your address but to that of the imposter. They in effect siphon off your finances without your knowledge.

They may commit crimes for which you may be blamed for even though you have no connection or knowledge about.

Theft of credit history information can cause extensive damage to your name, reputation and credit, which may take years to repair. You may face problems in cashing your checks, getting loans, or experience trouble being able to rent a home as a result.

To guard against such a situation you must take appropriate preventive steps and therefore:

• Never leave your credit reports lying around, making them accessible to untrustworthy people.
• Avoid giving our your driver license, social security number or bank account number.
• Use a shredder to destroy old credit reports and any pre-approved unused credit card or loan applications, credit card, ATM card and debit card receipts.
• Get a fresh credit report once per year to check if there are any unauthorized accounts or credit inquires that you are unaware of.
• Never write down your passwords or PIN numbers anywhere. Instead, always try to memorize, as it is only you who will be using them.

If you have any reason to believe that your credit history information has been stolen, then you must take steps to minimize/ stem the damage caused, if any.

• First, close bank and credit card accounts at once and open new ones with new passwords placed on them. Try not to use common passwords like your date of birth, mother's maiden name or digits of your SSN, telephone number or a string of numbers in seriatim.
• Call any one of the three credit reporting agencies and place a fraud alert on your credit report. The agency you call will in turn call the other two. An initial fraud alert will stay on your report for ninety days and an extended alert for seven years. The toll free numbers to call are:
  
  • Experian: 1-888-397-3742
  • Equifax: 1-800-525-6285
  • TransUnion: 1-800-680-7289

Credit history information is something you should protect religiously. Any laziness in this regard may jeopardize your credit status and put you in a situation where you are dealing with the aftermath of ID Theft for years to come.

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