We spend a lot of time thinking about how to build and manage wealth, but protecting what we already have is just as important. One relatively simple way to do that is to keep an eye on your credit.
Identity theft can happen to anyone, and fraudulent credit accounts are sometimes opened without the victim knowing about them for months. Fortunately, monitoring and protecting your credit doesn’t have to become a second job. A few good habits can go a long way toward protecting your financial life and providing some additional peace of mind.
Check Your Credit Reports Regularly
A good place to start is by reviewing your credit reports from the three major credit bureaus: Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion.
You can obtain your reports through AnnualCreditReport.com, the federally authorized source for free credit reports.
When reviewing your reports, look for anything that doesn’t belong. That might include:
- A credit card or loan you don’t recognize
- An unfamiliar company checking your credit
- Incorrect balances or account information
- Addresses where you’ve never lived
- Accounts you thought were closed
Hopefully, the entire exercise is wonderfully boring. When it comes to your credit report, boring is generally a good outcome.
Consider Freezing Your Credit
Another step worth considering is a credit freeze with each of the three credit bureaus.
A credit freeze restricts access to your credit file, making it much more difficult for someone to open a new credit account using your identity. Freezing your credit doesn’t prevent you from using your existing credit cards, bank accounts, or other established accounts.
You can freeze your credit directly with Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion, and there is no cost to place or remove a freeze.
If you need to apply for a mortgage, car loan, credit card, or other new credit, you can temporarily lift the freeze. Once the lender has accessed your credit, you can freeze it again.
One practical suggestion: save your login information securely. Discovering that you froze your credit three years ago is helpful. Discovering it while sitting at a dealership trying to remember your password is considerably less helpful.
What If You Find Something Wrong?
If you notice inaccurate information on a credit report, don’t assume it will eventually correct itself.
You can file a dispute directly with the credit bureau reporting the erroneous information. Provide as much documentation as possible and keep copies of your dispute, supporting records, and confirmation numbers.
If you discover a credit card, loan, or other account you never authorized, the situation may involve identity theft rather than a simple reporting mistake. Contact the creditor involved, dispute the fraudulent information with the appropriate credit bureau, and report the identity theft through IdentityTheft.gov.
The sooner you address an unauthorized account, the easier it generally is to begin cleaning up the problem.
Good Stewardship Includes Protecting What You Have
At Legacy Wealth Management, we believe financial planning is about much more than investments. It’s about putting the different pieces of your financial life together in a thoughtful way and avoiding unnecessary financial potholes along the journey. That reflects our broader philosophy of planning first and helping clients approach their finances with clarity, confidence, and wise stewardship.
Checking your credit and freezing it when appropriate aren’t particularly exciting financial strategies. That’s probably a good thing.
The goal isn’t to live worried about what might go wrong. It’s to take a few reasonable precautions, protect what you’ve been entrusted with, and then get back to the things in life that actually matter.
These are the opinions of Legacy Wealth Management, LLC and not necessarily those of Cambridge, are for informational purposes only, and should not be construed or acted upon as individualized investment advice. Jeff Funderburk is a Registered Representative offering securities through Cambridge Investment Research, Inc., a Broker/Dealer, Member FINRA/SIPC. Investment Advisor Representative, Cambridge Investment Research Advisors, Inc., a Registered Investment Advisor. Legacy Wealth Management, LLC and Cambridge are not affiliated. Cambridge does not offer tax advice. Copyright ©2026 Jeff Funderburk. All Rights reserved. Commercial copying, duplication or reproduction is prohibited.
