Senior Citizens Should Check All Three Credit Reports and Scores

As you get older, you may be paying off debts and may not be thinking as much about taking on new loans or whether you are credit worthy or not. The fact remains, however, that senior citizens should check all three credit reports and scores. In cases where a senior has gotten older, gone into a nursing home and is no longer managing his or her own affairs, this task may fall to family members who have power of attorney and authority over the senior’s financial assets.  Even in these cases, it is still important to check the senior’s credit report and credit score, despite the fact that it is unlikely the senior will borrow more money.

Why is it Important for Seniors to Check All Three Credit Reports and Scores?

It is important for seniors to check all three credit reports and scores because a senior citizen could be the victim of identity theft. There are many scammers who specifically target older people because they know that seniors may not be up-to-date on technology or may have fears about their finances and health.  If a senior’s memory is going or the older person is experiencing cognitive difficulties that tend to come with age, this also makes a senior more vulnerable to falling victim to a scammer who is out to steal his identity.  Checking all three credit reports and scores can help senior citizens and their family members to identify when personal information has fallen into the wrong hands and been misused.

How Does Checking All Three Credit Reports and Scores Benefit Seniors?

When you check all three credit reports and scores for yourself or for an older family member, you should quickly be able to see whether there have been any new inquiries. Each time someone applies for credit, an inquiry is listed on that person’s credit report.  If the senior isn’t applying for new credit at all, and an inquiry shows up, this can be a strong indicator that someone else has applied for credit with the intent to commit identity theft. Likewise, new accounts showing up on a credit report or unexplained charges on a credit account can also be a red flag that something is wrong and that the creditors (and possibly the police) need to be contacted.

Check All Three Credit Reports and Scores Regularly

Financial abuse is one of the most common types of abuse that affect older people in the United States, and it is very important to always be on the lookout for signs of problems.  Visit Credit Report 123 today to learn more about how to obtain all three credit reports and scores and how to check those reports and scores regularly to protect yourself or vulnerable loved ones from having their identities stolen and their credit destroyed

Benefits of 3in1 Credit Reports

When it comes to checking your credit and keeping on top of your score, 3in1 credit reports is one of the smartest options to consider.  Obtaining three reports in one makes it much simpler and easier to keep up-to-date on what the credit reporting agencies are telling lenders about you and about what the agencies have on file about your borrowing history.  There are many benefits of3in1 credit reports, including these key advantages.

3in1 Credit Reports Make Spotting Discrepancies Simple

While each of the three major credit bureaus should have the same basic information about you, this is not always the case. Sometimes, a creditor will report only to one of the agencies and not all three. In other cases, one credit reporting agency might make a mistake, like transposing information from someone else’s financial history onto your credit report.  When this happens, you need to be aware of it. Checking 3in1 credit reports makes it easier to spot problems like different and incorrect information on only one report, since you can easily compare the data from each of the credit bureaus.

3in1 Credit Reports Provide Up-to-Date Information

By checking 3in1 credit reports regularly, you’ll always have the most up-to-date information that is being reported to each of the credit reporting agencies.  You’ll know right away how your score is being calculated by each of the different credit reporting agencies so you can track how your score chances over time as you shift your behavior, such as by paying off debts or by opening new accounts. 

By checking all three reports, you’ll know as soon as any of the credit reporting agencies has made a change to your score or has received new details from a lender. This means you may be able to spot inquiries indicating that new credit has been opened in your name sooner, since the inquiry may show up with one of the reporting agencies (the one the lender used to check your credit) before showing up on the reports from the other credit bureaus. By getting information on your credit as soon as your reports are updated, you could potentially spot identity theft sooner and thus take action before the thief has time to do a lot of damage to your credit.

3in1 Credit Reports Let You See What Lenders See

When you apply for credit, lenders can choose which of the credit reporting agencies they want to use to get background information on you. Different lenders use different credit reporting agencies, so you want to know what all of the agencies are doing.  This way, no matter which report your lender pulls, you’ll know what they are seeing on your credit history.  With 3in1 credit reports, you can obtain this information without having to individually pull your credit each month from each of the three credit bureaus.

Fortunately, there are services available that allow you to check your 3 reports simply and easily on a regular basis. The sooner you get signed up, the sooner you can enjoy the benefits of knowing how your credit history looks to lenders and affects your finances.