An [tag]identity thief[/tag] hit me about three years ago and opened several [tag]cell phone[/tag] accounts in my name. Like many consumers who have been victimized by this ever-growing crime, I didn’t know anything about it until I was denied credit with a cell phone company who asked why I needed another cell phone when I already had five open with them. Oh, by the way, you owe us $1,200.

For most home purchasers, without a good [tag]credit report[/tag], you can’t buy a parking spot, much less the home of your dreams. Don’t wait until your mortgage application to see if you are who you think you are. The home purchase process is fast paced — taking weeks, not months to complete. If you wait until you make application to ensure you have clean credit, you may find yourself with an identity mess that takes too long to remedy. Is it a large problem? The [tag]National Criminal Justice Reference Service[/tag] reported that in 2004, 3.6 million households, representing 3 percent of the households in the United States, discovered that at least one member of the household had been the victim of identity theft during the previous six months. Two-thirds of those households lost money due to the theft at an average loss of $1,290.

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