Identity Theft Awareness: Who will steal your trust?

Nowadays, you can’t do anything without good credit. Credit checks are performed on just about anything, including employment applications, so it is important to maintain a good credit score. Good credit means that your history of payments, employment and salary make you a good candidate for a loan, and creditors will be more willing to work with you. This may sound like an easy task to uphold, but reality is, maintaining good credit gets harder every second.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) estimates that as many as 9 million Americans have their identities stolen each year. Roughly 29% of overall complaints are between the ages of 18 and 29 (typical college student age), making this group the highest level of reported complaints. Criminals are constantly on the prowl and creating new ways to steal from you. They can be strangers or even people from your inner-circle. I personally discovered them to be my apartment roommates. Here are a few tips to prevent identity theft from happening to you:

~Keep a list of all of your credit cards, account numbers, expiration dates, and issuer phone numbers, so that you can notify creditors quickly in case of theft or loss.

~Don't carry your Social Security card, birth certificate or passport with you regularly.

~Check your credit report for accuracy at least once a year. The Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACT Act) currently allows consumers to get one free comprehensive disclosure of all the information in their credit file from each of the three national credit reporting companies (TransUnion, Experian, and Equifax) once every 12 months through a Central Source, https://www.annualcreditreport.com.

You can help battle identity theft by educating your loved ones and members of your community. The FTC’s clear and concise message on identity theft: Deter, Detect, Defend, may help with your instruction.

DETER identity thieves by safeguarding your information

DETECT suspicious activity by routinely monitoring your financial accounts and billing statements

DEFEND against ID theft as soon as you suspect a problem

Awareness is an effective weapon against many forms identity theft. If you are approaching financial trouble or experiencing identity theft, many universities operate financial counseling programs that enhance student’s money management knowledge and skills.

Bad credit gets us nothing!

*Visit this link: http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/microsites/idtheft/consumers/deter-detect-defend.html to learn more about "Deter, Detect, Defend." Also visit http://students.spendonlife.com/blogging-scholarship for information about credit blogging scholarships.