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| Protect Your Identity |
Protect Your Identity
One¡¯s FICO score is a very important determinant of the ability
to finance the purchase or refinance of a home. The FICO score
is determined by a formula developed by Experian and takes into
account many different factors. In today's lending environment,
automated underwriting has taken a predominant position in the
processing of loan applications. It has become more cumbersome
to address issues that do not easily fit into the formula. It is
of extremely high importance, therefore, to protect one¡¯s
credit by guarding against identity theft. Once an item is shown
as a negative on one¡¯s credit report, it is very difficult and
very time consuming to get it taken off. Also, while an item of
bad credit is being investigated and attempts are being made to
rectify the problem, the result is that the overall FICO score
is reduced, and therefore reflects a greater credit risk than it
should.
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protection of your identity is one of the most important
functions in maintaining your financial health.?Identity theft
can cause many a myriad of problems.?One major problem could be
the inability to achieve the "American Dream" of
homeownership.?Even if you already own a home, identity theft
could cause you thousands and thousands of dollars due to higher
interest rates.?In trying to refinance a home in order to
remodel, for example, the interest rate could easily be 2%
higher than the current market interest rate just because
someone else used your credit and negatively impacted it.
There are ¡°Ten Top Tips for Identity Theft Protection¡±
published by the Office of Privacy Protection, California
Department of Consumer Affairs, www.dca.ca.gov. If one follows
these guidelines for protection, one will be far ahead of the
average person in safeguarding their identity, although no one
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fully guaranteed complete immunity.
The following is a short, abbreviated list of these top ten
pointers:
Tip # 1. Protect your social security number. (Don¡¯t carry your
social security card with you)
Tip # 2. Fight ¡°Phishing¡±-don¡¯t take the bait. (Don¡¯t
respond online to credit information requests).
Tip # 3. Keep your identity from getting trashed. (Shred
information when throwing away).
Tip # 4. Control your personal financial information.
Tip # 5. Shield your computer from viruses and spyware.
Tip # 6 Click with caution!?When shopping on line, check out the
website before entering your credit card number or other
personal information.
Tip #7 Check your bills and bank statements right away.
Tip #8 Stop pre-approved credit offers.
Tip #9 Ask questions of anyone before giving personal
information.
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#10?Check your credit reports-for free.
Identity theft can be devastating to a person¡¯s finances. It
often leaves its victims credit and financial lives in shambles,
but by practicing these simple tips you can stay one step ahead
of the identity thieves, and be the only one who uses your
identity.
For further information related to this article, visit
http://www.nefcortez.com
About the author:
Nef Cortez is a California licensed Real Estate Broker. He first
obtained his salesperson's license in 1976, and then earned his
Broker's license in 1984. Mr Cortez has worked in the real
estate industry as a salesman, manager, loan officer, and owner
of Real Estate and Mortgage Brokerages. He has also served in
various committees and offices of Realtor Associations. Mr
Cortez is also multilingual, with proficiencies in Spanish.
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