Credit history information that resides on your credit report is a natural target of identity thieves.

Information such as your full name, present and previous addresses, date of birth, social security number and name of your spouse are all examples of data on your credit report that an identity thief would salivate over. He would quickly use this critical inforamtion to create a phantom identity.

This is why identity theft awareness is so important. Using this information, the thief will pose as the 'real' you and obtain credit cards in your name. They work quickly to pile up debt, making purchases indiscriminately, using their bogus credit cards in your name.

You will be completely unaware of all this illegal activity because the bills are sent not to your address, but to an alternative address establish by the imposter. Without id theft protection, you may find the thief has in effect siphoned off your finances and your good name without your knowledge.

Crimes might even be committed for which you may be blamed - even though you have no connection or knowledge about the events in question.

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

To guard against such a situation you must take appropriate preventive steps. These steps include:

• Never leave your FICO credit score or other credit report information lying around, making them accessible to untrustworthy people.
• Avoid giving out your driver license, social security number or bank account numbers.
• Use a shredder to destroy old credit reports and any pre-approved unused credit card or loan applications, or credit card, ATM card and debit card receipts.
• Get a fresh credit report at a minimum of once per year to check that no unauthorized accounts or credit inquires have been made.
• Never write down your passwords or PIN numbers anywhere. Instead, always memorize important access codes to ensure only you will be able use them.

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

• First, close all bank and credit card accounts at once and open new ones with new passwords. Do not use obvious passwords like your date of birth, mother's maiden name or digits of your SSN or telephone number.
• 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 notify the other two agencies. 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 at all costs. Any laziness in this regard may jeopardize your credit score rating 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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