A credit score is a numerical summary of a consumer's creditworthiness that's based on the information contained within their credit report. It reflects the likelihood that they will be able to pay back a credit obligation. A credit score can have a significant impact on a person's financial life. Lenders rely on credit scores in decision making, including loan approval and what interest rates to offer. Lenders may even use credit scores to help them decide to raise or lower interest rates on existing credit card accounts.

There are many different credit scoring companies, each with its own formula for calculating credit scores. In turn, each lender may not use the same score for determining a person's creditworthiness. IdentitySecure provides members with access to their personal VantageScore credit scores™. VantageScore credit scores are based on the data contained in each of your credit reports, so they can provide a quick and accurate assessment of the strength of each of your credit files. Your VantageScore® Scores™, although different from the scores lenders use, are intended to reflect common credit scoring practices. They are designed for educational purposes to help you understand your credit.

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A credit score can tell at a glance what level of credit risk you are. But it's important to understand what your credit score actually is. Your score is a numerical reflection of your total credit picture. Credit scoring companies use formulas to derive your scores based on the information in your credit files at the three major national credit reporting agencies - Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. You will often want to review the data from all three scores because each credit score may be different, and you may never know which credit score a potential lender is using to measure your credit strength.

Anyone who may be considering you for a loan or other type of credit is likely to view at least one credit score. This includes banks, credit card companies, cell phone providers, mortgage lenders and even some insurance companies. In any of these instances, your credit score may be of critical importance. But that's not the only reason to know where your credit scores may fall.

A good reason to know your VantageScore credit scores is so you may have an idea of your credit worthiness should you need to deal with a potential lender or other credit agent. However, there are other reasons that you may not have considered. For one, the information in any of your credit reports may not be entirely accurate. A creditor may send the wrong information, or information may get lost in the shuffle or not be reported at all. Credit information about someone with a name similar to yours may get mixed in with your credit information. All of these issues could impact your credit score. A good way to discover this is to regularly review your credit report and credit score and verify the information yourself. If you find any discrepancies in your credit report, you should contact the appropriate credit reporting agency to correct the situation. IdentitySecure can help you with this.

Another important reason to monitor your credit score is to help alert you of potential identity theft. Identity theft can happen to anyone, and it can take days, weeks or more after the theft is discovered to put things right. However, regularly monitoring your credit report and scores can help you quickly verify that what is being reported about you is accurate.

IdentitySecure offers multiple ways to help protect your credit score. IdentitySecure's daily credit monitoring alerts you of certain credit changes that could impact your credit score, such as queries into your credit files and new account openings.

IdentitySecure also includes a credit information hotline, so you can always understand what's on your credit report. Plus, it has the credit score tracker, a feature that tracks your Experian Scorex PLUS^sm credit score and provides alerts based on your target score. See details. Combined with the financial calculator suite, you'll also be able to see how the efforts you are making are impacting your score, and learn ways to modify your financial plan accordingly. And, of course, you'll be able to receive your latest triple-bureau credit report every month, so you can discover items that may be affecting your credit score.

For your security, simply complete the authentication process on the website after you enroll in IdentitySecure. You cannot access your Credit Report and Scores or start your Credit Monitoring and Alerts until you verify your identity.

Best of all, you can view your VantageScore credit scores and triple-bureau credit report - as well as enjoy all of IdentitySecure's other benefits - right now. Join IdentitySecure today, find out how your credit stacks up.