It is crucial to check your credit report to ensure that it is accurate. As an individual you would look for the following:

• Inquiries: Inquiries should correspond to applications you submitted, or requests you made for credit. (In addition, your creditors, employers, or collection agencies might recheck your credit periodically.) Inquiries that seem clearly out of place, based on the date or company, should be investigated carefully as evidence of possible identity theft.
• Incorrect Address or Employment: It is not uncommon to find a small "typo" here or there, but a bogus recent address or employment change calls for careful investigation.
• Inactive Accounts with Activity: Thieves have been known to change the billing address on on old accounts you've forgotten about, a use them as if it were their own. A credit report shows whether each account is open or closed, and the activity.
• Accounts You Are Unaware You Have: It may be wise to close accounts you no longer use. A credit report can remind you of them.
• Unexpected Public Records: Credit reports show court judgments, liens, foreclosures, evictions, and other public records. Look for anything that is incorrect, and clearly not yours.
• Unexpected Derogatory Information: The typical pattern of an identity thief is to run up lots of bills, then not pay them. Look for unexpected past-due items.

If you have a dispute related to any information on your report, SARMA provides key details on how to accomplish this. Visit our "Dispute Center" for more details. Information on identity theft related items listed above is from the site 101 IDentity Theft, which is not associated or endorsed by SARMA.