Equifax Hack and Protecting Your Privacy and Help

Hi All,

As you might have heard by now, Equifax got hacked in late July 2017.  It was only a few days ago that they revealed that the company got hacked. Click on the following bunch of articles and links (10 of them in fact!) from various sources to learn more about the data breach.  Hope this helps!

Regards,
Stu

FTC - Equifax Data Breach: What to Do?

Get Your Annual - Free - Credit Report

FTC - Consider Placing a Credit Freeze on Your  Credit Report

FTC - All About Credit Scores 

USAToday - How to Freeze Your Credit? 

CBS News - video - How to Protect Yourself Against the Equifax Credit Breach

NYTimes -  Equifax's Instructions Are Confusing. Here's What to Do Now.

NYTimes -  After Equifax Breach - Here's Your Next Worry: Weak PINs

NYTimes - Equifax - Bowing to Public Pressure, Drops Credit Freeze Fees

NYTimes - Equifax Hack Exposes Regulatory Gaps, Leaving Consumers Vulnerable

Hi All,

So by now you probably know the importance of getting your free credit report once a year.  If not, click on this link which will explain why getting a credit report is important - and its even better when its free! This link is from USA Today and also explains why a credit report is important.

How do you get a free credit report you ask? Great question and here's the answer - click on this link from Annual CreditReport.com.


AnnualCreditReport.com is the official site to get your free annual credit reports.  AnnualCreditReport.com is sponsored by Equifax, Experian and TransUnion - which means that you have a single site where you can ask for all three of your free credit reports.

Enjoy the links and next time I'll blog about why credit scores are important and what the actual numbers (scores) mean.

Regards,
Stu

Your Credit Score Decoded

Hi All,

Some time ago - back in late March 2015 specifically - Yahoo! Finance did a piece on credit scores.  Basically they discussed how the final credit score number is generated.  Click on this link for the video - and note that a credit score is composed of 5 parts: payment history, debt balance, length of credit history, new credit applications and types of credit.

The rest of this brief blog post will discuss ways to increase your credit score.

Bankrate.com has an article titled, '7 Simple Ways to Improve Your Credit Score'

Myfico.com has an article titled, 'Improve Credit Score: Tips Repair and Improve Your Credit Score'.

Even Forbes.com got into the act with an article on credit scores...title of the article is '11 Ways to Raise Your Credit Score, Fast'. 

US News and World Reports wrote an article called '10 Simple Ways to Raise Your Credit Score'.

So there you have it...a total of 28 ways to help you increase your credit score - and from different sources.  Finally, the Federal Reserve Bank has a link titled '5 Tips: Improving Your Credit Score' - which can be found at this link.

Finally, if you need to contact individual credit score companies, click the following links:
TransUnion, Equifax and Experian.

We have a whole bunch of books in the library if you are interested in reading a book on increasing your credit score.  Click here for a link to the card catalog for the books on credit scores and how to increase your credit score.

Hope the links help you increase your credit score - and fast!

Regards,
Stu

 

Credit Reports

Hi All,

You've probably heard about something called a 'credit score' in the news lately.  Click here for a fairly recent article about credit scores. (Specifically the big three credit reporting agencies are overhauling their credit reporting practices.)

But what exactly does a credit score do for you?  Interestingly enough, this next article is from Wikipedia - and gives you a good summary of what is, and what is not, a credit score. 

This next link is from myFICO.com and has a section about credit scores.  What makes a good credit score you ask?  Read on!  Credit.com has a good summary of the credit score ranges for various credit agencies.

Note that there are 3 different major companies that generate credit reports: Experian, TransUnion  and Equifax.

How can you get a free copy of your credit report you ask? Great question - click on this link to a get a copy of your credit report.

Readers might want to click on this next link which is from Bankrate.com - an unbiased source for information related to mortgages, bank rates, credit cards, insurance, investments, taxes, retirement, financial planning and much more - titled 'How to Read a Credit Report'.  

You might want to click on this link from the FTC.gov which discusses credit reports in more detail. 

Finally, the library has 9 books on the topic of consumer credit.  Click on this link to see those titles that we have in the library. 

Hope this helps you get a credit score that you need or want or deserve!

Regards,
Stu

Consumer Action Handbook

Hi All,

The new, 2014 Consumer Action Handbook (CAH hereafter in this blog entry) is now available for download now.  Readers can download the CAH by clicking on this link.

A good summary of the CAH is that, 'Users can use the Consumer Action Handbook (CAH) to get help with consumer purchases, problems and complaints. Find consumer contacts at hundreds of companies and trade associations, local, state, and federal government agencies, national consumer organizations, and more'

The 2014 CAH is 148 pages long and is divided into 4 parts:
Part I - Be a Savvy Consumer
Part II - Filing a Complaint
Part III - Key Information Sources
Part IV - Consumer Assistance Directory

In the 'Be a Savvy Consumer' section alone the reader will learn about 'Service Contracts and Extended Warranties', 'Identifying and Stopping Fraud', 'Shopping From Home', using 'ATM/Debit Cards', using 'Prepaid Cards', 'Buying a New Car', 'Buying a Used Car', 'Financing', 'Leasing', 'Lemon Laws', 'Car Repairs' and much, much more. 

this part on 'Being a Savvy Consumer' has further sections on 'Credit Reports and Credit Scores', 'Dealing with Debt', 'Paying For College 101' and more. 

The book is 148 pages for a reason! It is extensive, comprehensive and chock full of useful information for consumers of all needs and interests. And it is free!  What a helpful resource!!!!

Other sections that are notable in the 'Be a Savvy Consumer' section include: 'Insurance' - which covers Auto Insurance, Health Insurance, Homeowners/Renters Insurance, Life Insurance and more, 'Privacy and Identity Theft', 'Telemarketing and Unwanted Mail' (National Do Not Call Registry', 'Travel' (Resolving Air Travel Problems, Cruises, Travel Safety) and 'Utilities' (Billing questions and starting Utility Service).

There is one section in particular that users should be aware of: Part III - Key Information Resources contains a list of  various federal agencies that deal with various products.

For example,
 - Animal Products safety hazards are dealt with the Food and Drug Administration
 - Automobile safety hazards are dealt with the national Highway Traffic Safety Administration
 - Consumer Household Product hazards are dealt with by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.

Finally, 'Key Information Resources' has information regarding Drugs, Cosmetics, Medical Devices, Toys, Baby Products and Play Equipment in this section. 

So there you have it.  A blog entry that might be short on additional links, is very, very long on useful, helpful, time-saving and money-saving information!

Enjoy the free download - and remember that you can access the CAH by clicking on this link!

Regards,
Stu

Free Credit Reports

Hi All,

You probably have heard about credit reports and how they can affect the various interest rates that you can receive when you buy a house or a car...

There is a lot more than meets the eye when it comes to credit reports.  Click on this link from the FTC (Federal Trade Commission) that discusses 'free credit reports'. 

Believe it or not, free credit reports do exist.

Click on this link - also from the FTC - that discusses ways to increase your credit score.  The basic rule of thumb is that the higher your credit score, the lower the rates will be when you purchase a house or lease a car.

Click on this link that goes into a lot of detail about the actual meaning of your credit score.   The article is from Debt.org...

Finally, click on this link to go to the Wikipedia entry for 'Credit Scores'. It has links, definitions and more information. 

Click on these links to go to each specific credit score company's website:

TransUnion
Experian
Equifax

Hope these links help you get a better credit score and help you understand your credit score.

Regards,
Stu