#7 – SIGN UP FOR CREDIT MONITORING

A credit monitoring service is a great weapon in the fight against identity theft. It can alert you whenever an identity thief tries to use your personal information to open a new account at a bank or credit card company, or even applies for a cell phone or utility service. Basically, whenever banks, lenders, and other companies pull your report to review your credit history (which they almost always do before lending money, goods, or services), you’ll know about it. If any of these credit inquiries are performed by companies you have no relationship with, it might signify an identity thief at work. Make sure the service you sign up for monitors reports from all three major credit bureaus.