Recovering & Rebuilding After Falling Victim to a Scam or Fraud
After falling victim to a financial scam or fraud, your credit score may take a hit. Following are ways to help you rebuild your credit, and tips for how you can protect your credit from future scams or fraud.
REVIEW YOUR CREDIT REPORT
The Fair Credit Reporting Act requires each of the nationwide credit reporting companies to provide you a free credit report, upon your request, once every 12 months. A personal request for your credit report will not impact your credit score.
Nationwide consumer credit reporting agencies – Equifax®, Experian®, and TransUnion® – receive data from various organizations and companies with which you have credit. This data is compiled into a report that reflects factors like the length of your credit history, your payment history, credit you have applied for which enabled companies and organizations to access your credit report, and the amount of money you have borrowed.
Click here to learn more about credit reports and how to utilize them to your advantage.
RE-ESTABLISH GOOD CREDIT
Whether you are new to credit or are trying to “clean up” past issues to reestablish a favorable record, you may encounter a frustrating paradox: many financial institutions are reluctant to extend credit to someone without an established record. Yet the only way to build a credit record is to have and use credit. Here are some ideas on how to create and build your credit history.
Click here to learn five ways to establish (or re-establish) good credit.
FREEZE YOUR CREDIT
A credit freeze can prevent a thief from using your personal data to open a fraudulent loan, but it will not stop someone from misusing your data for other purposes, such as filing a fake tax return, insurance fraud, or using a stolen credit card to make purchases.
Click here to learn more about freezing your credit and how it can help protect you from future impacts to your credit score.
INCREASE YOUR FINANCIAL KNOWLEDGE
Following are additional resources to help you stay on top of your financial knowledge and security best practices.
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