Recent surveys show there are currently 7-10 million victims per year and it’s on the rise.

And yes, identity theft can happen to you or anyone else in your family.

Consider the consequences for a moment.

You may not lose money, but you may very well end up with a damaged credit history. And a bad credit history impacts many aspects of your life.

Bad credit may prevent you from getting bank loans, credit cards, car loans, mortgages and more. In other words, through no fault of your own, lenders can start saying no to you. And it doesn’t help if you tell them about identity theft. What they’ll base their decisions on is your credit report.

And here’s the worst part. Victims of identity theft typically spend hundreds of hours getting things sorted out and repairing their financial status. This is a process that can go on for months; even a year or more.

Can you afford to take that kind of risk?

Criminals use a wide variety of methods to steal your information.

One way they do this is by calling you directly. Criminals obtain your name and phone number by reviewing the classified ads.

How to prevent or minimize the impact of identity theft.

While you cannot always prevent identity theft, you can take an important step to ensure that you don’t become a long time victim.

You need to be aware when it starts happening, not months later when your credit history is in ruins.

The most effective way of doing this is to check your credit report at several times a year. If you are a victim of identity theft you will catch it early by checking your credit report regularly.

And the sooner you find out, the faster you can stop the criminals and repair the damage.