Most everyone knows enough about credit scores (FICO) and their role in your personal finances. The Big 3 credit reporting agencies controlling your data and scores include Equifax, Experian, and Transunion. But how many of you know about their little brother, Innovis? Protecting yourself requires being as thorough as possible, partly by paying attention to all four agencies.

When you are setting out to increase your own security, begin by locating your own personal credit score. A good place to start is myfico.com, which is the standard bearer for credit scores. Yours can be obtained for no charge. Also, check out freecreditcheck.com for more information, as well as your own personal credit report.

Freezing your credit is an excellent safety precaution, in a world where there are bad guys lurking in every corner of the Internet. Freezing your credit assures you that no agency can make any changes or get your scores unless and until you authorize access at one or more of the credit reporting agencies.

We all hear the scary commercials on TV. You know the ones, where the bad guy steals your home by filing a simple piece of paper. The Register of Deeds in your county is required to file the notarized paper, once received in good condition, fraudulent or not. Or, the criminal puts mortgages and liens on your home, taking the money, and leaving you to cover the debts, even if it requires sale of the property.

While the commercials are designed to take some of your hard-earned cash, there are steps you can take that do not drain your wallet. The first and foremost action to be taken is to freeze your credit at every reporting agency. Fortunately, they make it easy.

Remember, they have ALL of your personal data, and any one of them may cause you trouble if they do not have a freeze on your data. That’s why many Americans freeze their own credit at the Big 3 agencies. This can be done online or by phone (at no cost to you). Once frozen, potential creditors may still gain access to your information, but they will first need to obtain your permission.

When you are taking these actions, remember to contact Innovis as well. They control the same data, and need to follow the same procedures.

Applying for a new loan or credit card requires a credit report, and the potential loan provider will need to obtain your score and credit history from one of the agencies. Find out which one the company prefers, and you can contact that agency to place a “thaw” on your data for a specific time. Once the process is completed, the freeze goes back into effect.

Remember that every person is treated individually by the agencies, so married people must perform the actions twice. We recently upgraded our status, including at Innovis, and the process was easy and free. Take advantage of that.