Because creditors need to
see your credit report before opening new lines of credit, a credit freeze will stop identity thieves in their tracks because creditors won't have access to your reports.
One of the reasons you need to
see your credit reports as frequently as possible is because that's how you'd know if you were the victim of identity theft.
They may also include companies that have asked to
see your credit report within a certain time period, your address and / or employers, and other details of public record.
Since most creditors need to
see your credit report before approving a new account, a credit freeze makes it difficult for identity thieves to open new accounts in your name.
Imagine that after
only seeing a credit report and some preliminary information the creditors make what you might consider a high debt settlement offer such as 75 cents on the dollar.
If a lender ca
n't see your credit report, there's no way they'll be willing to offer you a loan, so anyone trying to open an account in your name will be unsuccessful.
I
recently saw my credit report and found that because of MMI there have been 12 late payments on my report since I signed up with them back in January.
This led the researchers at the Fed to conclude that many consumers may
see their credit reports damaged and experience further hardships as a result of auto repossession.
If an insurance
company sees your credit report / history and sees that you pay your bills on time and have paid off debt, you will be seen as a lower risk than if you frequently missed payments or defaulted on loans.
Credit report complaints highlight errors — One out of five people who complained about their credit reports said they contain information that does not belong to them, according to newly released figures... (
See Credit report errors)
There is a lot of mis - information floating around about credit bureaus, credit reports and credit scores — not only that, but a large amount of the clients I work with have never
even seen their credit report or score before!
I am not saying everyone can get approved instantly — I could not and would not make such a promise
without seeing your credit report or knowing your situation, including whether or not you have the income to support a mortgage payment.
Another way to
see your credit reports is to use a free service like Credit Karma.
At the end of the day, though, no matter the algorithm being used or where you're
seeing your credit report, credit bureaus are using the same five factors to create that number.