allaboutwomen

13 million of us have been victims of credit card fraud, but a recent survey of over 2,000 people found that a third of the respondents didn't know they had been defrauded until their card was refused or they were contacted by their bank.
Fraudsters continue to get more sophisticated - online and at ATMs - so there has never been a more important time to check your credit rating and make sure your details are safe.
Get paid to check your rating
Right now (and only until 23 January) not only can you check your credit rating for free - you can get paid to check it. If you sign up to cashback website Top Cashback you'll get £16.66 to sign up through them for a free trial with Equifax.

The important thing to remember is that the free trial only lasts for 30 days - after that you'll be charged £6.99 a month, so don't forget to cancel in time.

What to look for
Even the basics on your credit file are important to check. Your current address and any past addresses will be listed. Make sure you don't have any letters from financial institutions going to an address you don't live at any more. Anyone could get hold of your personal details that way.

In fact, if you have any accounts or cards still showing on your file that you don't use any more, close them. That will help your score.

Check carefully for discrepancies. Any payments or transactions which you don't have a record of, or don't look familiar, may well be a sign of fraud. Contact your bank or credit card provider immediately if you think this is the case.

You also need to get in touch with the credit agency to explain that these transactions were fraudulent. They will then be able to update your file accordingly so that when a financial institution next needs to check your rating, they will be aware of what's happened.