Identity theft has, unfortunately become all too common. In fact, hardly a day goes by that there isn’t news about the theft of thousands of credit card records or other personal information. Identity theft can quickly ruin a credit report.

While identify thieves have become so skilled that you can’t totally protect yourself against identity theft, there are some things you can do to minimize the chances that your identity will be stolen.

You can’t control what your employer does with your personal information but you can at least ask how it’s maintained, if it’s secure and if sensitive information is shredded when being disposed of.

Instead of leaving outgoing mail in your mailbox, take it to the post office or a post office collection box that is secure. Second, get your incoming mail right away. When you order new checks, pick them up at the bank instead of having them mailed to you.

Do you have people working in your home? Be sure to keep financial records, credit card statements and other personal information locked away.

Tear up, or even better, shred all credit applications, bank statements, credit card offers, charge receipts, checks, insurance information and expired credit or debit cards before depositing them in your trash.

Never leave debit, credit or ATM card receipts behind such is in ticket-vending machines or your bank–and never throw them away in public.

Always watch your wallet and keep it in a safe place when you’re at work. Carry your wallet at all times when you’re out in the public. When you’re in a restaurant, do not hang your purse on the back of your chair.

Be sure to protect your family’s Social Security numbers. Keep all Social Security cards in a secure location and give out your numbers only when it’s absolutely necessary. In the event that your state uses Social Security numbers on driver’s licenses, ask to be given a substitute number. Does your child have a Social Security card? If so be sure to check with the three credit reporting bureaus periodically to make sure that an identity thief has not used the number to get credit.

Use passwords on your credit cards, telephone accounts and banks that cannot be easily guessed or found. Don’t use obvious passwords such as your mother’s maiden name, the last four numbers in your Social Security number, the names of your spouse, pets or children or other personal data. Also don’t use passwords that can be easily guessed such as 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, or a, b, c, d, e, f, and so forth.

If you do business with a company that has had its records breached, contact it immediately to see if your information was affected. If you find that your credit information had been affected, be sure to carefully monitor your accounts for fraudulent charges. And if your Social Security number was stolen, put out a fraud alert on your credit file.

Be careful about the information you give out over the telephone, through the mail or over the Internet. Don’t provide any personal information until you have called the organization’s customer service number to make sure its request for your information was legitimate. Also, ask how the information will be used and request that it be kept confidential.

Finally, do not give out your Social Security number over the telephone unless you’re absolutely certain about the company requesting it and that the company can be trusted.   It’s usually better to provide our SSN either in person or by mail.

You may not be able to totally prevent identity theft from ruining your credit report but you can take steps to make it harder for them to find and use your information.

You know you can get your free annual credit reports from the government but you have to pay if you want your credit scores. However, there is a way to check your credit score absolutely free with Credit Karma and no credit card is required. That is correct, there is no credit card needed ever. Plus, Credit Karma has recently introduced absolutely free credit monitoring. This saves you at least another $10 a month or $120 a year.

Credit Karma

What I like best of all about CreditKarma is that you can update your score as often as you want.

So let’s say you paid off a credit card balance and you want to know how that will affect your credit score. Normally credit bureaus report new activity once a month. So you will have to wait at least a month to get the new updated information on your credit report. Then after a month you can go onto Credit Karma and see your new updated credit score.

You can also accomplish this by using their free credit score simulator tools and estimate what your new credit score will be.

By keeping an eye on your credit score regularly and using the free credit monitoring service you will stay on top of your credit file and be aware of positive and negative changes. You can also be aware of possible identity theft or fraud on your account.

Get started now and see your absolutely free credit score and start your free credit monitoring service with Credit Karma in less than 5 minutes from now with no credit card needed or ever asked for.

How important is it to have good credit?

Well, it’s not quite as important as having a pulse but these days it seems to be almost as important.

When you apply for credit with a bank or any other credit provider, the first thing the company will do is check your credit and your credit score. This means that unless you can pay cash for everything in your life, you need to have good credit. Without it, you can’t get credit cards, a mortgage or a home equity line of credit. Not to mention the fact that it may be hard to get a job or low insurance rates.

If you have a high credit score, you probably will be able to borrow more money at a lower interest rate. Conversely, if you have bad credit, you won’t be able to borrow as much money or you’ll pay incredibly high interest.

Nice car or junker?

Need a car? If you have bad credit, you may not be able to buy one or if you can, you may have to settle for an older, less desirable vehicle. In other words, good or bad credit can make the difference between getting a new midsize car or a five-year old subcompact.

Many landlords won’t rent to people unless they have decent credit. If you have bad credit, you might not even be able to rent a decent place to live.

Employers will usually check your credit meaning that if you have bad credit, you might not get that great job.

Start your own business? Not without good credit

Have you ever thought of starting your own business? Starting a business usually takes a lot of money – most of which you would probably have to borrow. If you don’t have good credit, you won’ be able to borrow very much money so It’s unlikely you’ll be able to fulfill that dream and have your own business.

Would you be shocked to know that most utility companies will check your credit before turning on your electricity or gas? Bad credit? You may not be able to have electricity or heat your house or apartment. Or they will hit you with a high security deposit before they turn on the heat and water.

Why you need to know about having good credit

You need to know the difference between good and bad credit, how to build a good credit report, what a credit score is and about credit bureaus. You’ll also need to learn about those free credit reports and credit scores, how to choose a “good” credit card and about identity theft and the things you need to do to prevent your identity from being stolen.

In short, you will need to know how to get and keep a good credit rating and how to manage your credit for a better, less stress-filled life. Having good credit is important for a number of reasons. The more you learn about how to properly manage your finances the better off you will be and the more money you will have in your pocket each month.

If you have ever been late on a credit card bill payment and seen it on your credit report and noticed a big drop in your credit score you want to know how long that negative mark is going to affect you. Let us take a look at how long late payments stay on our credit report and affect our credit scores.

Since your payment history influences 35% of your FICO score you can understand why just one late payment has such a negative impact on your score. It shows lenders you are a higher risk and you need to be charged a higher interest rate based on that risk.

The more recent your late payment or late payments the more of an effect it will have on your file. Your credit report typically shows the last 48 months of your payment history. Yes, even the free annual credit reports from the government. So you will see your late payments for at least 4 years on your file.

That does mean the late pay will affect you for all 4 years. As time goes by and you make all your future payments on time you will see your credit score gradually improve. You will have demonstrated that you made a mistake one time and are now staying on top of all your bill payments and have better financial habits and can be trusted with a low rate credit card, auto loan or home loan refinance.

So late payments stay on our credit reports for at least 4 years but only seriously affect your credit score for the first months. The more recent the late payment the more of a negative mark it is.

Do your best in the future to pay all your bills on time and you will have a credit report many lenders will want to look at and lend money to.

Personal loans are unsecured, not requiring collateral. Most of the time, applying for bad credit personal loans is not much more difficult than applying for a credit card. But with two key factors working against you-bad credit and the loan being unsecured-your interest rates will probably be through the roof.

That said, even a bad credit loan of 20% interest rate on $5,000, paid over 5 years, may be affordable when broken down to monthly payments, and just what you need to help cover an emergency.

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In setting the rates for bad credit personal loans, lenders take basic borrower details into account besides your credit score, like income, job circumstances, amount requested and the length of the repayment term.

How much can you get?

The amount available in bad credit personal loans varies by lender, and also by your credit score. Many have standard loans of between $5,000 and $10,000; some go higher. There are lenders who offer smaller amounts for checking account emergencies and other immediate problems of up to $1,000 within 12 hours if you are approved. The repayment terms on these amounts are shorter.

Payday loans are another form of personal loans. These loans give you a smaller amount of cash in exchange for a post-dated check that is cashed on your next payday. For these loans, many lenders require a valid checking account, a job with at least $1,000 income per month, and no more than one other outstanding payday loan.

Check with your bank or credit union first

Before applying online, check with your bank or credit union for personal loan availability. Even with a low score and past credit report problems, if you’ve maintained an account in good standing for several years at your local bank, you may be eligible. In any case, you should rate shop before applying anywhere, online and off.

Don’t apply to several lenders at once

Personal loans (including bad credit personal loans) don’t show up on your credit report the same way that auto loans or home loans do in regards to rate shopping and your Fico score. Every time you apply for a personal loan, it counts as a separate inquiry on your credit report, thus dropping your score by a small number of points. If several inquiries for unsecured loans (personal or credit card) are made in a relatively short time, the score will be dropped by more than the sum of the individual inquiries, as this behavior indicates that a consumer is getting into cash trouble and will likely have future repayment problems.

When applying online, it makes sense to find a third-party company that will get bids on your application from several lenders at once. The third-party company (like a LendingTree) pulls just one credit report, which is sent to each lender for bidding. This way, you get the benefit of competing bids for your business without the multiple credit report inquiries.

It’s always hard to be in a cash crunch. But in most cases, you’ll find lenders who will give you bad credit personal loans, if you can’t avoid or will pay the higher costs. In any bad credit situation, get help so that overall you’ll be on the road to recovery. A great start is by getting a free credit report without a credit card, available online today in many varieties.

If you’re in the market for bad credit auto loans, you’re not alone. There’s a booming subprime auto lending business going on.

Does this mean many more consumers who need bad credit loans today? Not entirely. Subprime financing has come into being with the use of the fico credit score. Lenders use credit scores to predict quite accurately what percentage of borrowers will default on loans at each credit scoring level. For example, at below 500 points, more than 80% of borrowers default. At 700 points and up, only a small percentage of borrowers default.

This lets lenders set interest rates for each credit scoring level to cover the expected defaults. The bad news is that the higher interest rates can cost a small fortune. The good news is that many more people can qualify for bad credit auto loans-the same people who used to be turned away entirely.

To find the best deal in bad credit auto loans, check first with your bank or credit union. Some have special deals for existing customers. Then, use one of the easiest methods of shopping: an online aggregator like LendingTree or NexTag. These companies work with several lenders and will give you up to 4 competing bids. You’ll be surprised at how much each lender’s terms and rates can vary. If the first several lenders can’t offer you a loan, keep looking and don’t get discouraged; the field is very competitive and you’ll probably find a lender if you keep looking.

Rate shopping

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As with home loans, you can rate shop for bad credit auto loans (and auto loans in general) without making a dent in your Fico score. If you do all your rate shopping within 2 weeks, you’ll only “pay” a couple of credit score points on the first application. All the other applications will show on your credit report, but they won’t lower your score any further. So plan your shopping for bad credit auto loans carefully; at lower score levels, every point counts.

Boost your negotiating power with pre-approval

Dealers will often entice buyers into the showroom with low interest offers, or offers to work with those who have bad credit or no credit. That sounds easy but can sometimes put you in a negative negotiating position.

Don’t get hoodwinked into thinking that because you have bad credit, you must take the dealer’s loan packages or inflated prices. They may talk as though they’re doing you a favor, making bad credit auto loans available to get you into a car & then jacking up the sales price. But you can often get better rates on bad credit auto loans when you shop for them yourself, outside of the dealership.

In addition, when you arm yourself with pre-approved, your credit rating (and your vulnerability) are not part of the car price, leaving you free to push for the right deal. The best plan is to know what the car should cost without financing; then balance the selling price with the whole picture of financing costs, rates and monthly payments.

Refinancing bad credit auto loans

After 13 months of good payment history on your auto loan, look into refinancing at better rates. Credit scores will have improved, and will move up again substantially at 24 months and again at 36 months if you make on-time payments consistently. The difference between, for example, a 16% and a 10% rate on a $12,000 loan puts about $100 per month back into your pocket, providing valuable cash flow for your financial recovery.

Your financing company doesn’t own you; take advantage of all the ways to get free credit reports these days and you’ll know how to make them work for you, not against you.

Millions of Americans have suffered from credit problems. If you’ve experienced them yourself, one of the best steps you can take is to open an account for a secured credit card-you could call these bad credit credit cards.

Secured credit cards are offered in exchange for a certain amount of your cash held as collateral in case you don’t pay. Then, starting with low credit limits-a couple hundred dollars, for example-users slowly re-establish a positive payment history without getting in over their heads.

Because of the way credit scores work, you’ll want to apply for bad credit credit cards as soon as possible after a major credit hit like a bankruptcy or repossession. Every 12 months of stable payment history rebuilds your score to very usable levels, even after the first year or two, so start right away, and bad credit loans will soon be a thing of the past.

Using bad credit credit cards

Use the card regularly, at least once per month, and pay at least the minimum every month. Keep the balance below 50%; this is very important for score recovery. It’s also very important to show regular activity & repayment every month. Forget about the money you have in the account; you’ll need to hold this card and account for at least 36 months and ideally longer so it can do it’s best work for you.

Don’t convert the account

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Here’s a little-known tip: After a certain amount of time with good payment history, the issuer will offer to convert your account to a regular account, usually with a higher credit limit. The problem is you have to close out the original account & open a new one, and both actions lower your score! So don’t be tempted; stick with this one simple account for as long as possible-several years at least-and you’ll always have an active, positive, long-term credit card account pushing your fico credit score higher. Another benefit is that it takes time to re-learn positive credit behavior, and several years is not too few after serious problems.

Finding the best deals

Where to get these bad credit credit cards, or secured cards? Your bank or most major banks & some credit unions will offer them. An easy way to compare terms is at Bankrate.com. This website does the footwork for you by listing credit card rates & terms from many banks in one place. It lists websites for easy online applications. Apply to just one until you get an answer, as each application will further reduce your credit score by a small amount.

Unsecured cards

Many banks offer un-secured bad credit credit cards, where no collateral account is required. Avoid them if at all possible, as their interest rates, terms & fees are terrible. Imagine paying between 16-25% interest every month, plus $75 annual fees, $30 over the limit fees and NSF fees, and miscellaneous other fees that are destined to drive you to credit despair anyway. These accounts take a page from the playbook of loan sharks.

When your Fico score begins to rise, you’ll be sent credit card offers every week. Get in the habit of checking the tables that list the rates & fees. You’ll see huge variances and start to get a greater sense of how the machinations of credit card marketing can push you towards poor financial decisions. Let these offers go for the first few years of credit recovery and you’ll never regret it.

Bad credit loans are loans that take a consumer’s low credit rating into account when setting rates & terms. Lenders refer to loans that fall into this category as “subprime.”

Your fico credit score decides the types of loans for which you qualify. Typically, scores under 600-620 are considered subprime. Certain lenders specialize in subprime, or bad credit loans. Others offer all types. In all cases, bad credit loans cost more than conventional loans, with much higher interest rates, higher down payments and higher loan origination fees.

Before applying for bad credit loans, know the facts to protect yourself.

Decide your need.

Image by jferzoco via Flickr

The first step in getting bad credit loans is to take a long look at your circumstances. Are you applying for the loan for a purpose that will simply worsen the credit problems that put you in the there in the first place? Is there any other way to fill or postpone your need? If you have current cash flow issues and existing high interest payments, getting more of the same makes it very hard to end the cycle. The best advice is to start by contacting a consumer debt counseling service or your creditors directly to try to work out a payment plan.

Credit problems often make people feel desperate, rushing into the first solution offered. Trust yourself and your ability to find other answers. Bad credit loans will be available now and in the future, so don’t panic; stepping to the side of the anxiety allows previously unseen solutions to surface.

Shop around.

If your credit problems are in the past but exerting pressure on your scores now, bad credit loans may be the only ones available for 12-36 months, depending on how fast you rebuild your Fico score. Shop around extensively to compare rates and terms. Interest rates can vary by many points for the same credit score because different lenders have different targeted profit levels. Read ALL the fees, terms and conditions because these can vary by thousands of dollars from lender to lender. Understand your total cost before you agree to take the loan. Remember, your business is money for a lender, no matter what your credit score-you’re still the customer.

Keep rate shopping within two weeks.

It’s important when shopping around for any auto or home loan (bad credit auto loans included) to confine the shopping period to two weeks or less. That’s because applying for new credit lowers credit scores, except for home or auto loans; in those cases, all applications (or inquiries) made within two weeks of the first are like one inquiry for score purposes. For example, if applying for an auto loan lowers your score two points, you could apply to 100 auto loan companies within two weeks, and it would only lower your score by those first couple of points.

Beware of scams.

Con artists prey on people who are scared about finances through ads and telephone calls, offering cheap bad credit loans for a fee. They may ask you for an “advance fee” of hundreds of dollars, and you’ll never hear from them again. Always do your own research before applying for bad credit loans, rather than accepting offers by phone or ads. According to the FTC, about 95% of those scammed never report it, making it harder to crack down. Report these problems if they happen to you-you may prevent identity theft.

Identity theft is one of the fastest growing crimes around the world. Billions of dollars and hundreds of thousands of hours are lost each year to identity thieves. Follow these 10 tips to help you prevent becoming the next victim of identity theft:

• Check your credit report about once per year. Make sure there are no entries that you can’t explain. If there are, contact the creditor listed immediately, and if not satisfied contact the national credit bureaus and report the suspicious entry as possibly fraudulent or a result of identity theft. There are multiple sources of free credit reports online, as well as your new ability to get a free credit report without a credit card from the bureaus from new legislation.
• Do not give your credit card number or personal information over the phone unless you have initiated the call, or it is a company with which you have current business. Do not give out this information in order to get a prize, sweepstakes winning, or any other benefit without first getting all the company information-name, address, phone, website address-and checking with an independent resource for legitimacy.
• Don’t fall for “phisher” email scams. These identity theft emails come to you looking just like they’re from a nationally recognized company. They ask you to go to their website to obtain a new personal identification number (PIN) or some other reason that requires you to divulge your private information, including existing PINs, credit card info, bank account details and more. The website you click to may look exactly like the real version but it will send your details to a criminal ready to make your life miserable. If you get an emails requesting personal information, even though you may have an account with the company, call them using your own telephone number resource for the call (not the number listed in the suspicious email). Ask whether this request for information is real.
• Don’t be careless with paper statements. Sometimes identity theft perpetrators dig through garbage to find copies of credit card statements, with your name, account number, and some transactions, as well as address. The FTC recommends that you tear or shred any items that have identity-sensitive information on it. The same is true of the credit card offers you get by mail.
• Be cautious when supplying your Social Security number to any requestor. What’s the purpose for the number? Is there another number that can be used? Don’t let yourself be strong-armed into giving your SSN loosely. Though lenders & creditors will require the SSN for granting credit, many other businesses can use another identifier, even if somewhat less convenient. It’s more convenient for YOU not to be a victim of identity theft.
• If you leave your home for more than a couple of days, put a vacation hold on your mailat the post office. Call the U.S. Postal Service at 1-800-275-8777 to request the vacation hold. The Postal Service will hold your mail at your local post office until you can pick it up or are home to receive it. Or, have a neighbor pick up your mail. Social Security statements & checks can also be stolen from your mailbox and used to commit identity theft.
• Try to verify whether online merchants are using a secure server, with information from your transactions encrypted into code when shopping via the Internet. If in doubt, try another online vendor.
• If your bills don’t arrive on time, contact the companies. Sometimes identity theft is committed when a thief has changed your address of record with the billing companies to cover his tracks.
• Carry as few credit cards and personal data cards as possible. For example, don’t carry your Social Security card in your purse or wallet unless you absolutely need to.
• Protect your sensitive documents in general, at home if you have roommates or service people visiting. At work, keep your purse or wallet out of site.

If you believe you have been the victim of identity theft, report it to each of the national credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian & TransUnion) and also to the FTC at www.FTC.gov. You’ll get specific instructions from each organization about your next steps. You can correct credit report errors fast yourself or get help form a bona fide credit repair agency, as long as you carefully research their legitimacy.

Not everyone wants to steal your identity and commit fraud. But when everyone helps prevent the easy opportunities that thieves use, we can stop identity theft more quickly.

Once you have accessed your free credit report and accessing information from one of the three credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian, and Trans Union, respectively), you may discover that your next task is to repair your bad credit. If you fall into this category, do not panic: improving your credit score is something that you can take control of and fix. Remember, though, that obtaining a credit report is a critical first step in repairing your bad credit, and the information contained in a credit report can be used to repair bad credit. The process is free, fully online, and instant.

Once you have your personal credit report, you can work to improve your bad credit status, by following seven simple steps.

Step #1: Check Your Credit Reports. After accessing your free credit report from any one of the three credit bureaus, you should review your report in detail to ensure that it is accurate and updated. Simply noting errors or misinformation in your report might help you repair your bad credit with ease.

Step #2: Correct Errors on Your Report. Should you indeed spot an error on your personal credit report, inform one of the three bureaus, in writing, and by registered mail, of the error. Include copies (not originals!) of any supporting documentation with respect to the error. If a creditor/lender has provided the credit bureau with negative information about you that you contest, then request that the bureau furnishes an explanation of “your side of the story” to any future creditor/lender (remember: creditors and lenders want to lend you money; it is how they make money, so this explanation could go a long way!). The bureau and the creditor are legally required to investigate the matter that you escalate with your registered letter, and provide you with feedback within a reasonable period of time (usually 30 days). Remember: Credit Reports sometimes contain wrong or outdated information, and identify theft may play a role here. Credit Reports identify what is bringing down someone’s credit score, which could possibly be used in a plan to correct the derogatory marks. Remember, too, that the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) is in place to ensure accuracy and confidentiality of the data in your credit report. Should you encounter any serious discrepancies that cannot be resolved, contact the Federal Trade Commission to lodge a complaint.

The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), enforced by the Federal Trade Commission, is designed to promote accuracy and ensure the privacy of the information used in consumer reports.

Step #3: Close Unnecessary Credit Accounts. Consider closing any open account that you are not accessing, in order to prevent you from the temptation of borrowing money; and potentially sinking further into a bad credit rating situations. However, be aware not to close too many accounts as this can actually lower your credit score.

Step #4: Track Your Spending. Budget your income, and ensure that paying off debt is a part of your expenses. If this means that you will have to sacrifice some expenses, then this is what you will have to do in order to improve your bad credit score. It may not be easy or preferable, but gaining control over your spending is a highly effective way to raise your credit score over the long term.

Step #5: Set New Spending Goals. Focus on spending targets and ensure that you meet them. This will not only help you repair your credit score, but will also help you build better spending habits, which will ultimately help you maintain a good credit score over the long term.

Step #6: Pay Your Bills on Time. Ensure that you are prepared to pay the balance, or minimum payment (or somewhere in between) on your loans and other debts. If you have a short-term emergency that prevents this, talk to your creditors about potential reduced or deferred payment schedules until the situation subsides.

Step #7: Consolidate Debt. Some creditor interest rates may be punishing (such as those offered by some department stores). Consider consolidating your debt through a home equity loan or other such loan to take advantage of a lower interest rate. This consolidation strategy also may help you reduce 10 monthly payment into 1; which is easier to remember and track as you repair your credit score.

Solving your credit problems is not easy, and will take time, patience, and understanding of the law. Remember to start with your credit report, and follow this with a careful review of the information in your report from one of the credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian, or Trans Union). With the right focus, tools, and commitment, fixing your bad credit history is a goal that you can surely achieve.