If you've ever tried to remove inaccurate or fraudulent information from your credit report and gotten the runaround, take heart: The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is now on the case.

By Gerri Detweiler You've heard the standard advice: check your credit reports for free once a year at AnnualCreditReport.com. You may have even hear...

Remember: No one can completely protect themselves from identity theft, but taking these steps can help you catch red flags before there is major damage to your credit and finances.

It's common to believe that a credit score is really only helpful when you want to borrow money and therefore (so the questionable logic goes) you don't need to check your score until you want to borrow money. Here are four reasons why that way of thinking is wrong.