| Easy Steps to Improve Your Credit Score
(ARA) - Your credit score affects what type of interest rates you get on credit cards or for buying a house or car, as well as your approvals for employment or apartment rental. It's important that you understand not only what your score means, but how to repair it.Now you can get your credit score online.By viewing your credit activity on a regular basis you can remove any items that may not belong to you, which can negatively affect your score. If you have a low credit score due to detrimental items that need to be removed or fixed, there are steps you can take to remove them.GoFreeCredit.com teaches you how to manage your credit report and how to deal with credit bureaus and creditors. Credit monitoring, automatic notification of credit activity and a detailed personal analysis are all included in this online service.Many times people don't realize there is negative activity on their credit report.
Consumer Affairs warns about 'not-so-free'
The South Carolina Department of Consumer Affairs (SCDCA) encourages people to check their credit reports annually. This is an important way consumers can safeguard against identity theft, credit fraud or unauthorized charges, and check for errors or inaccuracies that can affect a credit decision. Legislation that became effective in South Carolina on June 1, 2005, gives consumers the right to receive a FREE copy of their credit report once a year. However, if ordering your credit report online, consumers are warned to stay away from misleading Web sites claiming to offer free credit reports, then enrolling the unsuspecting consumer in a monthly reporting service costing $11.95 each month. SCDCA has received numerous complaints from consumers who are further victimized when emails trying to cancel the service go unanswered and the Web sites offer no information on cancellation.
Wednesday | 21 November, 2007
You know retailers are ready for Black Friday -- but so are hackers poised to launch a slew of Web-based attacks against consumers. Your money and personal information could be at risk. "The holiday season in general is a huge time for hackers ... [and] Black Friday is typically the start," says Paul Henry, vice president of strategic accounts for Secure Computing. "This year, my biggest concern for consumers is all the Web-borne malware out there." Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, is followed in marketing lingo by Cyber Monday. Both are big days for retailers and online fraudsters. Consumers should watch out for e-mails advertising incredible deals that seem too good to be true. "Freebies may be freebies in the sense that you get free malware," says Jamz Yaneza, a senior threat researcher at Trend Micro.
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