It always pays to check your credit card statement. It may be easy to just write the check or send that online payment, but that is far from the wisest course.

Consider this scam. A company called Pluto Data is appearing on people’s credit card statements. No one has heard of them, yet they have managed to add charges to a large number of credit cards. If you don’t check your statement, you’d never know they had charged you, as so far they don’t add enough to the bill for most to notice an unusually high balance.

Another common problem is identity theft. It’s all to easy for thieves to break into mailboxes and steal preapproved credit card offers, new credit cards or information about you that they could use to apply for credit cards in your name.

How do you fight back? One simple way is to tell the credit bureaus that you don’t want your name being given out for preapproved credit card offers. Read my article on opting out for more information. You’ll be amazed at how much less junk mail you will receive.

Also make sure that you get your free credit reports regularly from http://www.annualcreditreport.com/. You have the right to this information, so take advantage of it.

Protecting your identity is extremely important. You cannot afford to have a poor credit score because of things other people have done with your name. Keeping up with the charges on your bills and your credit report can save you a lot of trouble later on.

Technorati Tags: , , ,