We live in the information age, in which data is grouped into what we call information, and information is grouped together and called knowledge. And as we all know, knowledge is power, assuming that the information that builds and comprises our knowledge and intelligence is accurate, which unfortunately in many cases it is not.

We’ve all heard of identity theft, where criminals now run their businesses with billions a year in criminal proceeds and much of it is not a loss to a bank. In fact, in many cases, it is the person whose identity has been stolen who suffers the direct financial loss, as well as the ongoing damage to reputation and creditworthiness. Simply because many people implicitly trust what the computer says, the fact that there is false, misleading, and incorrect information in its data files is simply not believed by many people, including law enforcement agencies and employers.

It’s very smart, and actually basic common sense when you think about it, to run checks on yourself to verify the truth and accuracy of the information held about you. And the two areas of information you want to investigate and satisfy are your own credit report and the information that authorities keep in the public record.

Searching online for a suitable information provider so that you can do your own checks is easy enough, but of course you should try them to check if your files and access to records are up to date as well. Personally, since I’m always on the go with my job and my phone number is always changing, I always try these information providers and look up a phone number for an address. This way I can see if the information they have on file is up to date, and if I get a wrong answer I move on to try the next one. There is a helpful link in my resource box to help you get started in finding the right company for you.