Credit Repair Attorney

The United States Department of Justice has a website dedicated to identity theft. A part of that website includes a few steps on how to prevent identity theft. They call these steps, “SCAM”.

S stands for “stingy”. Be stingy with your private information and only divulge it to people who need to know it.

C stands for “check”. Check your financial information as well as the periodic mailers from the Social Security Administration for accuracy. Make sure that only what should be there is there—nothing more and nothing less.

A stands for “ask”. Ask for a copy of your credit report periodically.

M stands for “maintain”. Maintain careful records of your financial life and keep them in a private and secure place.

The “A” step, asking for a copy of your credit report, is where a credit repair attorney can help you. No, you do not need a lawyer to contact the three credit reporting companies and get a copy of your credit report and anyone who tells you otherwise is probably trying to scam you. However, how often should you check your credit report? What does the information mean? How do you verify the information? How can you tell if the inquiring companies are legit and from the car dealership you just visited or if something untoward is going on?

Some of those questions might be answered by the agent at the credit reporting company if you go down to each of the offices and request your credit report in person and then sit down with an agent. Because these agents aren’t lawyers, they’re a bit limited on the information they can provide.

A part of a credit repair plan with Smith and Garg includes monitoring your credit report for a year. Monitoring includes keeping a watchful eye on inquiries and other types of changes that would legitimately occur during that year as well as being alert to anything that seems suspicious. A yearly check of your credit report could reveal illegitimate information eleven months after the fact. Eleven months is a very long time in the life of credit.

If you’re concerned that you are the victim of identity theft or you’re worried that you are a prime target for identity thieves, credit report monitoring will provide peace of mind.