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.

Why Check Your Child’s 3 Score Credit Report

Most adults know they need to check their 3 score credit report so that they can find out information about how their creditors are reporting on their debt and borrowing habits to each of the major credit bureaus. However, many adults may not be aware of the fact that it is also a good idea to check their children’s credit reports… even if their kids don’t have credit.  So, why check all 3 credit reports under your child’s name? There are a lot of good reasons to do so.

Check your Child’s 3 Score Credit Report for Mistaken Information

Your child may not actually have credit in his or her name yet, but that does not mean that someone else doesn’t have a similar name and a lengthy credit history.  It is not uncommon for mistakes to be made and for the wrong information to be reported on someone’s credit report. If you check all 3 credit reports for your child, you will be able to catch any mistakes that are made by any of the credit reporting agencies. You can then contact the agency and get the incorrect information removed from your child’s report so he won’t start out life with a credit report that has someone else’s data on it.

Check All 3 Credit Reports For Signs of Identity Theft

Checking your child’s credit report is also a good idea because kids, like adults, can become the victim of an identity thief. It is important that you catch an identity thief as quickly as possible so that you can notify the appropriate authorities and so you can make sure that creditors don’t negative information about your child or even try to take action to collect from your child for debts that an identity thief incurred.  Checking your child’s credit reports lets you quickly see if someone has opened an account in your child’s name so you can take swift action.

Check Your Child’s 3 Score Credit Report So Your Child Will Be Ready to Get Credit

Finally, the last reason to check your child’s 3 score credit report is so that you can ensure your child is ready to get credit when he or she needs it. When your child goes to college, there is a real possibility that student loans will be necessary since most kids require them. You want to make sure your child is able to qualify for the best rates, and you can help him or her to do that by ensuring that there is no information on a credit report that will have an adverse impact on the ability to borrow.

Fortunately, checking all three credit reports is easy with IDENTITY GUARD® Platinum. Visit Credit Report 123 today to learn more about how to obtain a 3 score credit report and make sure your child’s credit information is correct.