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Last year, I decided that I was finally going to bite the bullet and trade in my ten-year-old Honda for a newer model. I had driven it to excess and it had served me well; I had been without a car payment for over five years, and I had never been late with any payment – car or otherwise. I had checked my credit rating with the three bureaus about 7 months before heading out to the car dealerships because that’s when the idea to buy new first hit me. You know how it is; I agonized over the decision before finally chomping down on the bit. My rating was in the “excellent” category at well over 700, so I knew I could get the best deal when I went to finance. So, seven months after checking my rating and finding it at 700 or better, I was shocked when the bank turned down my request for a car loan, and the dealer financing was going to sock it to me for thirteen percent interest! I couldn’t believe it; I hadn’t paid that kind of interest rate since I was just a nineteen-year-old who had never even had a credit card before. Thinking they were crazy as loons, I left with my emotions in a snit. They told me I had “less than average credit,” so I went home to call Experian. Turns out, that in the half a year since I had checked, some smarter-than-average criminal had stolen my personal, private information. Ironically, he most likely got it from a site I went to while researching the new car I was planning on buying. Anyway, he was out there using my personal data to get all sorts of credit accounts and charging all kinds of stuff in my name. It took me almost a year to repair all that damage and I spent so much time and had so many headaches it was ridiculous. That is why protecting your privacy and personal data is so important. Do whatever it takes to protect your good name and your privacy; Run regular virus scans and use a good registry cleaner to keep your PC and data in peak condition.
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Wed, Nov 11, 2009
Articles