March 13, 2023
Rockford, IL – March 10, 2023 – When we spring forward and change our clocks for Daylight Saving Time this weekend, the Better Business Bureau recommends that people check their credit. It’s free and easy. “Don’t assume your credit is safe, even if you pay your bills on time,” says Dennis Horton, director of the Rockford Regional Office of the Better Business Bureau, “Your credit report significantly impacts all aspects of everyday life. It will determine your mortgage rate. It could decide whether or not you get that job you applied for, or if you succeed in renting an apartment.“
Identity theft is so serious and so prevalent, it’s not a matter of if, it’s a matter of when. “Even children’s identities can be compromised, so monitor everyone in the family.” adds Horton.
The last thing you need is for a scammer to steal your identity and money. Horton notes, “A con artist could apply for a credit card in your name, take money out of your bank account or run up fraudulent charges using your identity. That will show up on your credit report.”
Identity theft remains in the top 10 of the local annual BBB scam report. Stealing information is also a key component of many of the other top reported scams. With all the personal information on the internet, people must now be extra careful.
Horton says, "It's no longer enough to check your credit report once a year. We highly recommend that everyone check their credit report twice a year to ensure their vital financial information has not been compromised. The two biggest losses consumers suffer at the hands of fraudsters are financial and loss of personal information used in identity theft."
Consumers each year are allowed a free credit report from the 3 major credit reporting firms, Experian, Transunion, and Equifax. Visit www.annualcreditreport.com to request these. We suggest you enroll in Free Credit Score here: https://www.cornerstonecu.org/promo-landing-pages/credit-sense.aspx to keep track of your credit more & more at any time.
Make sure that you have the correct URL whenever you are online. Scammers create similar-looking or sound-alike sites that are not official to steal your money and identity.
For More Information
If you’ve spotted a scam (whether or not you’ve lost money), report it to BBB ScamTracker. Visit BBB.org or follow us @ChicagoBBB on social media. Look for the BBB seal, The Sign of a Better Business.
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About BBB:
BBB of Chicago and Northern Illinois is a nonprofit organization that has served both consumers and trustworthy businesses for 96 years and is a part of the IABBB. We help protect consumers from scams and provide a free database for consumers to see business ratings and reviews to find businesses they can trust. We connect customers to businesses they can trust.
The International Association of Better Business Bureaus (IABBB) is the network hub for BBBs in the US, Canada, and Mexico.