How to Read an Identity Theft Report
How to Read an Identity Theft Report
Courtesy of Credit.PrivacyMatters.comSM
Organizations like Privacy Matters offer an identity theft report, containing useful data from many different public databases. When combined with your financial information in a credit report, an identity theft report offers a powerful one-two punch that can help you detect identity theft.
It might help to think of an identity theft report as your own "personal privacy report," a detailed six-part document that's designed to help you safeguard your personal information. Privacy and identity theft issues are pretty difficult to hide from these days, with warnings both online and in print seemingly everywhere you turn. And that's for good reason. Identity thieves are not only potentially dangerous to your financial health and well-being, they also seem to thrive on challenges; the more identity theft safeguards there are, the harder the thieves try to work around them. That's why getting an identity theft report can be an effective way to guard your privacy and prevent identity theft.
How do I read my identity theft report?
Just like your credit report, your identity theft report represents another chance for you to be proactive and prevent identity theft. The six-part document is designed so that it's very easy to read.
View sample identity theft reportIt allows you to keep regular tabs on your personal information while keeping online criminals and cyber thieves guessing. Please follow along with the sample provided here, and go through the document step-by-step — one information field at a time:
- Personal Information — This section displays your current and former places of residence, so watch out for bogus mailing addresses. If you find an address listed that you know to be invalid, don't just disregard it. It could be a sign that someone else is trying to pretend they're you.
- Names Associated With Your Personal Identity — This part of the report lists the names of relatives, roommates, associates and previous occupants of your current residence. Make sure all the names here are ones you recognize. Chances are you may not know the names of the previous owners of your house or apartment (especially if it's a rental property), so be sure to ask your landlord or broker for that information.
- Property Report — This section lists all property records, property mortgage and sales data publicly listed in your name. As with all other personal information fields, if you find property listed that you don't remember buying, take steps to start an official inquiry.
- Neighborhood Report — This is a useful tool for you to track general trends and specific behaviors in your immediate neighborhood — everything from population numbers and ethnic and racial diversity to average income levels and criminal activity.
- Financial Information — This section of your report contains financial information also found in your credit history of your credit report. This section provides a complete financial picture, including bank accounts, real estate holdings, other financial data (like foreclosures, bankruptcy filings and other matters of public record). This section is specifically designed to allow you to check all your financial information for accuracy.
- Inquiries — This portion of the report lists any and all inquiries that have been made about you and the date that each was made. Here's another instance where you need to keep your guard up and pay attention to the details. If a person or a company you've never heard of made an inquiry, someone could be using your identity.
Identity thieves have a lot to gain by capturing your personal information — they can profit very quickly by doing everything from charging goods and services in your name to masquerading as if they were you. That's why you need to understand not only how valuable an identity theft report can be, but why it's so important to know how to read and understand the report.
