Having a high credit score, which is generally thought of as anything above 600, is usually seen as a good thing. It means you can qualify for pretty much any loan you want and get a good rate on it. However, there is one downside to being so credit savvy. You become very desirable to identity thieves.
Since many thieves want to use stolen information to apply for loans, they of course want to qualify for as many and as much credit as possible, and your good credit can help them do that. Too bad you won’t have good credit for long, but by then the thief will be on to his or her next victim.
According to the Experian credit bureau, the connection between high credit scores and identity theft is “significant,†with nearly half of this type of fraud happening to people with scores that are above average. Experian came to this conclusion after conducting a study of over 800,000 credit records, using its VantageScore credit scores as a base. That doesn’t mean that people with so-so or bad credit won’t be victimized, just that those with higher scores are especially tempting targets.
So what should you do? Simple. Ruin your credit! No, seriously, that is not a good idea. Instead, how about investing in some identity theft protection? It’s a good idea for everyone to do so, but especially those that identity thieves likely have an eye on. It doesn’t cost a lot to get a plan in place, especially when you compare it to how much money you could be spending trying to restore your good name.
You can go anywhere from a simple credit monitoring service to a plan that monitors 1000’s of credit databases and illegal networks. It is entirely up to you and your family how much coverage you think you need.
We know it can be especially disheartening for people that have excellent credit to head to the store to make a purchase and have their credit cards declined because they are being investigated for nonpayment on an account they don’t even know exists. Or to be turned down for an auto loan for their child because there are three yachts in their name that have been repossessed.
There’s no limit to what a thief can do with an excellent credit score and a credit card with a high credit line he or she was able to obtain thanks to that stolen score. It can be scary to think about.
The best thing about an identity theft protection service is not that you may stop identity thieves in their early stages, or before they have a chance to strike, although that is undoubtedly nice. The best part is that you don’t have to worry about identity theft and can just go about your daily life. You can work, shop, go to school, go on vacation and otherwise enjoy that good credit you’ve worked so hard to build, without a black cloud hanging over your shoulder. Peace of mind is a beautiful thing.