Establishing and maintaining good credit is essential to achieving your financial goals. Buying a house, opening a checking account, obtaining a credit card, or getting a loan for college or to start a business require a good credit score.
Credit Protection Tips:
- Monitor all statements you receive in the mail. Be sure you are receiving checking account and credit card statements. Look at the transactions listed to be sure they are yours. Balance your statements.
- Shred all personal documents you are discarding. Don’t trust the trash! Shredders are an inexpensive investment that will help protect one of your most valuable assets – your credit!
- Secure all paperwork. This is especially important if you have roommates. Keep all personal information in a safe place.
- Check out the Federal Trade Commission’s Website to learn about credit and the law that provides for a free credit report annually.
You may obtain a free credit report annually from the three credit bureaus at www.annualcreditreport.com or call 877-322-8228 or complete the Annual Credit Report Request Form then mail it to:
Annual Credit Report Request Service
P.O. Box 105281
Atlanta, GA 30348-5281
*All information is courtesy of America’s Community Bankers, American Bankers Association, Federal Trade Commission, FDIC, and your Iowa State Bank.