Well to my surprise when the leasing agent came back and told me I wouldn’t be able to get the town home due to bad credit I told her that’s impossible. I was outraged and told her to check it again because I knew that it must’ve been a mistake. I sat there waiting for her to come back and apologize for the mistake and she did come back and apologize but she apologized because I wouldn’t be getting my dream place. I left feeling humiliated and defeated. How could I have bad credit when I just turned 18 and never had a credit card? Well that was my first experience of being a victim of identity theft and surely not my last.
Later that night I tried to get to the bottom of what was going on. Let me tell you that in itself wasn’t easy. After trial and error and talking to what seemed like everyone under the sun I ended up figuring out that my SSN might have been used fraudulently. A light bulb went off in my head: Well if it was used fraudulently then they’ll just take it off and then I’ll be able to move out. That’s when my next shock happened. The man I was talking to told me “well it’s not that easy, you’re going to have to fill out a police report for every fraudulent acct and charge, file it with all three major credit bureaus and follow those credit bureaus dispute process as well”.
After hours and hours of phone calls and practically getting carpal tunnel from all the forms I had to sign I thought I was done. I did what I was suppose to and now I just had to wait for it to be processed. It didn’t get fixed that week, the following week or even in that month. I waited and waited. Surely this will all be over soon being that I’m not even the one to blame. Well sadly to say I still have to deal with being the victim of identity theft to this day.
Through all my research and personal experience I’ve realized that I needed to do something to help prevent someone else from using my credit again. The first thing I did was get a copy of all my credit reports. I’d highly suggest to anyone, no matter your age, to get all three major credit reports and fico scores. Look over them in detail and make sure that all the information on your reports are actually valid. If there is something inaccurate or fraudulent then contact that credit bureau immediately (their phone number should be on the credit report).
After looking over your credit reports I’d recommend getting a program to help assist you with preventing identity theft. You might check your credit regularly but there is only one of you and millions of people trying to get your good credit. And think about it, just in the time that you’re sleeping someone could be stealing your identity and everything you’ve worked hard for. Having some added help couldn’t hurt.
After trying many programs out myself I was extremely impressed with LifeLock. LifeLock is the only Identity Theft Prevention Solution backed by a one-million dollar guarantee! LifeLock is also the industry leader in identity theft protection. I was amazed by their proactive program meaning that they offer a proven solution that prevents your identity from being stolen before it happens. LifeLock is also the best value in it’s price range and the only program that offers an identity theft child protection program. You can see for yourself by clicking here or on the banner below. Trust me you won’t be disappointed with their protection or their customer service.
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