You can’t turn on T.V. news or open up your favorite news site without hearing yet another story about identity theft – each more shocking than the last. In fact, let’s play a little game. Which of the following news stories did I make up just to see if you could tell the difference? Play honest – no looking them up!

Number One: Who's In Your Wallet?

A software engineer in Seattle hacked into a Capital One server containing the personal information of more than 100 million customers… Credit scores, limits, payment history and balances, as well as contact information and portions of transaction histories, were accessed. About 140,000 Social Security numbers of credit card customers and about 80,000 linked bank accounts were also accessed. Approximately 1 million Social Insurance Numbers of Canadian customers were compromised…

U.S. News & World Report (July 30th, 2019)

Number Two: What’s the BAD News?

Capital One's data breach affected approximately 100 million customers -- more than 30% of the U.S. population. However, it doesn't even break into the top five data breaches of all time…

ABC News (July 30th, 2019)

Number Three: Socking It To Them

Bombas LLC — whose ads call their products “the most comfortable socks in the history of feet” — will pay $65,000 in fines for waiting three years to tell 39,561 online customers that their credit and debit card data had been breached…

New York Post (June 6th, 2019)

Number Four: Ground Control To Major Tom – If That’s Even Your Real Name…

Decorated NASA astronaut Anne McClain is accused of stealing her estranged wife’s identity and improperly accessing her bank account while McClain was on a six-month mission aboard the International Space Station — likely the first crime ever committed in space.

New York Post (August 24th, 2019)

Number Five: I’d Rather Give Up Reality TV

{A recent} study, conducted by OnePoll in conjunction with LastPass, explored the protections and password sharing habits of respondents in the US, UK, Australia, Germany and France. It discovered that globally, 28% have been the victim of a hack or stolen identity. But of the 1,000 Americans polled, that number jumps to 35%. When it comes to passwords, people are willing to part ways with a lot of money to get their information back. The average respondent studied would be willing to shell out $3,808 to retrieve their email password from a hacker… The worry most likely stems from the fact that two in five have not changed a single password in the last 12 months after a major breach was reported on the news…
41% revealed they’d rather sit in traffic than have their personal information stolen, while a further third are happy to do their taxes if that would avoid having their personal information hacked or stolen… 28% of respondents would much rather give up alcohol to prevent a breach of their personal information… another one-third of the people surveyed revealed they’d happily forgo reality TV if that meant they’d keep their personal information safe and protected from a potential breach.

New York Post (August 15th, 2019)

Number Six: Are You Kidding Me?

More than 1 million children in the U.S. were ID theft victims last year, resulting in losses of $2.67 billion, according to the 2018 Child Identity Fraud Study by Javelin Strategy & Research. No one is too young to be targeted. Javelin found that two-thirds of the victims were under the age of eight. Another 20 percent were eight to 12 years old…
Criminals can have a field day with a child’s identity information because it’s never been used before. When a bank or other company pulls a credit report, they’re not going to find anything, and so the criminal has a clean pallet to work on. Parents should look for warning signs such as their child receiving pre-approved credit card offers in the mail.

NBC News (June 21st, 2018)

Alright, do you think you spotted the fake news story? Which one? Say it out loud so you can’t tell yourself afterward that you got it right if you didn’t.

I’ll wait.

The answer is… it was a trick question. They’re ALL real news stories. And those aren’t even the worst ones – just some of the most recent. Identity theft is a major problem in our modern, online world. It’s terrifying, disorienting, and you can’t imagine the inconvenience until you’ve actually been through it, I assure you.

So, how can you guard against ID theft? What are some identity protection basics to help minimize the chance of this happening to you? And how does all of this impact my credit and my ability to get loans or better interest rates? Let's take a look.

How Can I 100% Prevent Identity Theft?

You can’t. There’s no way to be absolutely safe on this one.

Then again, to be fair, that’s true of everything – health, financial investments, love, education, home security. There are no guarantees in this fallen world of ours. But you CAN substantially improve your odds.

Eating right and exercising doesn’t guarantee a long, healthy life, but they dramatically increase your chances over binging old TV series and ordering pizza every night. Locking your doors and getting a home security system won’t reduce to zero the chance of someone breaking in and grabbing your wrestling action figures collection, but it WILL reduce the likelihood to something pretty close to nada.

Identity protection basics aren’t garlic and a sharpened stake against the vampires looking to open a credit card in your name, but they’re at least a cross and some holy water. You should certainly pay attention and do the parts you can do if you’d prefer to avoid debt collection calls from a tattoo parlor in Venice you’ve never heard of or questions from your wife about why this credit card statement says you’re spending so much on jewelry when you haven’t given her anything nice in years.

How Does Someone “Steal” Your Identity?

Think about the basic identifying information we use to apply for credit cards, rent a car, apply for a job, or otherwise prove we’re ourselves in dozens of different circumstances. What comes to mind?

My first thought is my Social Security Number, my address, my phone number, my full name… if things get serious, the list might expand to my place of employment, previous addresses or names, maybe the names of my spouse or other family members.

None of that is particularly hard to find out. Most of it’s public record; some of it you probably share freely on Facebook or whatever social media the kids are using these days. Your Social Security Number is on every application, medical history, voter registration, or any other form you ever fill out in your life. Sometimes I think they include it just out of habit.

“I don’t think we have that in 2XXL with the zebra pattern at the moment, but if you want to leave your name and a phone number, I can call you when we get more in. Oh, and don’t forget to include your SSN and the name of your first childhood pet.”

One of the harsh realities of identity protection basics is that once someone has your name and Social Security Number, the rest is pretty easy. They don’t need to replace you at your kid’s birthday party or anything – it’s not that kind of identity theft. All they need to do is use your identifying information to request an income tax refund, or a new credit card, or rent an apartment. If your email password is “password” or “12345” or your kid’s name or anything else obvious, it’s one more easy step to ordering from pretty much any website which keeps your payment information stored for your shopping convenience and having the stuff shipped to a location of their choice.

How Can I Make It Harder to Misuse My Identity?

Now THAT’S a much more practical question. Here are a few simple things most of us know when asked, but don’t always do when busy:

Shred anything with personal information on it instead of throwing it in the trash or recycling. This should definitely include unsolicited credit offers or forms you’ve filled out with identifying information all together in one place.
Make your passwords a bit more involved and less obvious. Use the first letters of favorite song lyrics to create something meaningless to anyone else, or devise a personal system of swapping out numbers and letters that let you create different passwords for every site you visit without having to remember a dozen different passwords.
Wipe delete erase destroy any hard drives or phone memory before disposing of or donating old equipment.

Some of you are going to find these next few rather insulting. I know, I know… but we get careless. We get busy. We get distracted. We completely choke on the most obvious identity protection basics to the degree that we’re embarrassed to admit it afterwards. So I’m going to say them anyway…

Don’t click on links in emails from people you don’t know, or even from people you do if anything looks or feels weird about it. (You wouldn’t believe how many companies are hacked for info because a junior executive thought her boss – using a bizarre, unfamiliar email address – desperately needed her to order some iTunes cards for an upcoming event or whatever and she’d be reimbursed.
Don’t share account information over the phone or online, and don’t assume everyone claiming to be from your credit card company, your bank, or the I.R.S. actually works for those places. Uncle Sam will never, ever, EVER leave you an automated voice mail saying you’re in trouble for tax fraud and need to call to verify your information to avoid federal prison. Your local bank is very unlikely to call you to “resolve account confusion” or start asking for numbers and verifications via online chat.
Check your credit reports regularly and look for errors, like addresses you don’t recognize or accounts you don’t remember opening.
Sign up for credit monitoring and ID protection. Utilize the information and resources available from reliable sources online.

In short, identity protection basics come down to two things: do the parts you can do, and seek help with the parts you can’t. We shouldn’t have to guard against ID theft, but we do. We must. The only way to stop the bad guys is for the good guys to pay attention.

Am I Safe From Identity Theft If I Have Bad Credit Already?

Do burglars ever break into poor family’s homes? Sorry, but you're not off the hook.

I get it – it would be nice to think there’s at least some advantage to struggling with debt or trying to recover from poor credit. Surely at least those “dark web” people could leave you alone and go after richer targets, right? But I’m afraid that’s not how it works.

If you have limited credit or bad credit, you need to take the same steps as anyone else to make sure outsiders aren’t taking advantage and making it worse. While you’re at it, consider that your credit doesn’t have to remain limited forever. Bad credit this year doesn’t have to mean bad credit two or three years from now.

Rocky credit history isn’t a criminal record. It’s not a sign you’re an evil person or that you have a terminal economic disease. It means that at that moment, you’re considered a poor credit risk. It reflects past circumstances and behavior; not future potential. So, once you’ve done a few basic things in terms of identity protection basics, let’s talk about rational ways to build or rebuild your credit for your own purposes.

What Is A Good Credit Score?

That’s a fair question. The answer, however, is going to vary with your circumstances and why your score is being consulted. On the one hand, there are some general guidelines as to what most organizations consider a decent credit score. On the other, I’m going to suggest to you that maybe the best way to think about this question is in relative terms…

A good credit score is one that helps you get access to the resources you need at reasonable rates.

A good credit score is one that makes it possible for you to take advantage of multiple options when it’s time to buy a home, finance a vehicle, settle a medical bill, or plan a vacation.

More than anything else, though, a good credit score is one that’s a bit higher than it was six months ago. That means that in six more months, a good score is slightly higher than whatever you have now. Time only moves in one direction outside of the movies and TV sci-fi. You can’t go back and change what led to now.

But the present? THAT you have some input on. And the future? Well… it's actually rather promising. Start doing the basic things you know you need to do to shore up your credit score and pay attention to identity protection basics and who knows what’s possible?

It wouldn’t hurt to check your score now, then again in 90 days, and see what’s changed. Once you’ve watched it bump up a few times, it’s suddenly easier to make those tough choices each month, week, or day.

Do Credit Checks Hurt My Credit Score?

Would I lead you astray like that?

No, they don’t. Checking your own credit is what’s known as a “soft” credit inquiry. You’re not actually looking to borrow money by doing it, so it doesn’t impact your score or anything else. Companies often run “soft” checks on you without you even knowing – when you apply for a job, want to rent an apartment, or they want to send you loan offers in the mail at insane interest rates (despite the big font promotional rate for the first six months).

“Hard” inquiries are made when you’re actually applying for credit – to buy a home, finance a vehicle, take out a credit card, etc. “Hard” inquiries do show up on your credit report, but I wouldn’t worry about it unless you’re doing something unusual with how often you’re trying to secure funding. Lenders expect you to borrow money from time to time – it’s when you suddenly try to borrow it ALL from EVERYONE that they get skittish.

How Can I Improve My Credit Score?

Start by making sure you guard against ID theft. Or have I mentioned that one already?

There’s no silver bullet on this one, and no quickie fixes. Anyone who promises you otherwise is fibbing (or delusional). Like losing weight or getting better at playing the saxophone, it’s all about making solid daily decisions and avoiding the occasional cliff that may appear out of nowhere.

You improve your credit score by paying your monthly bills on time. Don’t incur additional debt if you can at all avoid it. Plan ahead for major purchases; avoid impulse buying. Settle or negotiate with any lenders you may owe instead of simply throwing the bills away and hoping next month you’ll have the cash.

If nothing else, just avoid new debt and new problems and the bad stuff eventually falls off your report all on its own. That’s not the most exciting answer in the world, but I’ve seen it happen. Like, up close and personal.

To me, in fact.

Sometimes, of course, the issue isn’t so much that we have BAD credit – it’s that we simply don’t HAVE much of credit history of any sort. I wrote about this recently, but we’ll revisit a few highlights here:

Get a Credit-Builder Loan

Borrow with a Co-Signer

Build Credit with Your Parents’ Help

Build Credit by Paying Your Bills

Build Your Credit with Store Cards

Use a Secured Credit Card

What Are the Five C’s of Good Credit?

I’m so glad you asked. The Five C’s are a fresh take on what’s involved in securing credit and what lenders look for to determine whether or not you’re a good risk. Keep in mind that while some lenders go strictly by the numbers – they run your info and the software says yes or no – you never know when the person on the other and of that phone, that internet form, or that paperwork, has personal discretion whether or not to approve your loan, lower your rate, grant your extension, or otherwise help you out.

Go into every financial situation knowing your credit score and ready to honestly discuss your credit history. Bring documentation of your income and your liabilities, especially if they’ve changed for the better recently. Decide in advance what you are and are not willing to put forth as collateral (and make sure you’ve talked it through with anyone else who might be immediately impacted, no matter how good your intentions).

Finally, don’t be hesitant to offer details about how you’re planning on using the funds. Some lenders don’t care, but for others, it matters. Borrowing to start a small business is noble, but loaded with risk. Borrowing to remodel your kitchen because you have grandkids coming soon and want to be able to accommodate larger family dinners doesn’t prove you can afford the loan, but it certainly suggests you’re staying around for a few more years and probably trying to do right by those in your care.

What About Student Loans?

You’ve either read, watched, or heard about our nation’s struggle with student loan debt in the news lately. It’s a big topic, and one of the big 4 or 5 issues anyone currently running for office simply must address. So how do student loans impact your credit, and is there anything students or recent graduates should be especially aware of when it comes to identity theft or credit monitoring and ID protection? What do identity protection basics say about college and student debt?

On the whole, students are no more or less likely to be targeted for identity theft. I’d suggest that going back to school, or graduating from whatever post-secondary education you choose to pursue, is a great time to get serious about identity protection basics. Graduation is all about new beginnings – transitioning from one life to another, hopefully, one which is better informed and perhaps a bit more focused as well.

You have plenty of options if you’re still looking for ways to finance your education. You should certainly pursue all of the traditional sources. Don’t forget, however, that it’s the 21st century and this isn’t your parents’ student loan environment. Yes, in some ways it’s more complicated and fraught with risk than ever before. The flip side of that, though, is that there are more possibilities and greater flexibility than grandpa would ever have believed.

Of course, you’ll want to make timely payments and follow all the usual guidelines about your credit rating when it comes to student loans. Hopefully, however, it will be more than worth it because of what you’ll gain by taking that leap.

Should I Be Worried About Taking Out A Personal Loan?

In terms of identity protection basics, not at all. Identity theft doesn’t occur because you use your credit or conduct your business as you have every right to do. It’s a crime, and it’s wrong, and it’s terrible, so we stay attentive and we do things to guard against ID theft. We don’t stop living, though, and we don’t stop moving forward.

When looking for a personal loan, make sure you do so by considering only reputable lenders. By leaving your information in the form below, you are giving us enough to work with so we can match you with lenders who may be willing to give you a loan.

You know I’m a fan of the right personal loan to lower your interest rate, to reduce your monthly payments to something more manageable, to finance a wedding, a vacation, or even a decent home computer set-up. You can even improve your credit score. Pay attention to the sorts of things we discussed above and then reach out. Try your local bank or credit union if you want to start that small business. Find out if Uncle Deon really meant it all those times he said he’d beat anyone’s interest rate if you ever needed to borrow money to replace that garage. But before you make your final decision, consider online lenders as well.

In Conclusion

We don’t lend money, nor do we charge you for anything we do here. Our goal is to help you bring together the different ways you’re expected to manage your finances and try to make it a bit more organized and a bit more efficient. Whether it’s managing your debt, organizing your taxes, exploring better ways to build your wealth, or reclaim control of your life through refinancing or otherwise reshaping your current loans, we don’t just want to help you defend yourself from bad people wanting to do bad things. We want to make it easier for you to do all the good things you were made to do.

Let us know if we can help.

Identity Protection Basics Explained: Credit 101

How Can I 100% Prevent Identity Theft?

How Does Someone “Steal” Your Identity?

How Can I Make It Harder to Misuse My Identity?

Am I Safe From Identity Theft If I Have Bad Credit Already?

What Is A Good Credit Score?

Do Credit Checks Hurt My Credit Score?

How Can I Improve My Credit Score?

What Are the Five C’s of Good Credit?

What About Student Loans?

Should I Be Worried About Taking Out A Personal Loan?

In Conclusion

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