The biggest worry to credit card users in Ireland today is ‘information pirates’. This describes anyone that uses illegal tactics to learn all of your personal information and gain access to your credit card or even steal your identity and open a new credit card account. Fortunately when you you apply for a credit card in Ireland you get a set of solid tamper proof safe guards in place, which have been designed with you in mind. But it is still advisable to take certain precautions, as new technologies are being developed by the pirates all the time and they are cleverer than you think.

The two popular methods used to steal your information is either by gradually learning about the victim; finding out their name, address, mothers name, fathers name and so on until they have a full profile of you. Make sure you shred any sensitive data, shredders are not that expensive, and can potentially save you a fortune in the long run, or alternatively stop using paper bills and statements; try and make the switch to paperless bank statements as this reduces your paper trail and helps keep Ireland tidy!

The second technique is to hack your home internet network and use key loggers to record your information, as well as your online banking usernames and passwords. This second method can only be done if your computer has been infected with a virus, which usually infects a victim’s computer after opening an email and clicking on a link or picture. Make sure you have appropriate firewalls and virus protectors in place. Never open a link from an un-trusted source.

Never give out your personal information over the internet, especially on MSN messenger or the online social networks. When banking online, always make sure that the website is the official banks site, do this by checking the address at the top of your browser, if the URL has an ‘s’ after the http then you know it’s a secure connection.

Most of all trust in your intuition; if you have a feeling that something is not right then leave and report your worries to the service provider.

With a FICO score, the higher the score, the better the score is. FICO scores range from 300 to 850. A good score is anything 700 or above. This score is for the ideal credit consumer. They make their payments in time, they do not own that much debt, and they have demonstrated responsible use of credit for a long time.

A score below 600 will not rule you out but will probably get you higher interest rates. You can find out what your credit score is free; you are entitled to a free credit report once a year.

The following factors contribute to your credit score:

* payment history
* how much you owe
* how long you’ve had a credit history
* whether you’ve applied for new credit recently
* types of credit used

Why would you want a good credit score?

Companies use your credit score to see if you would make a good customer. Credit reports are used:

* for determining if you are a good credit card customer
* for determining how good a car insurance customer one might be
* for determining how good a mortgage customer one might be

Besides determining whether one qualifies for credit or not, the credit score also groups people into how desirable they are as a customer. Companies are willing to offer lower interest rates to people with higher credit scores because they are more desirable as customers. Conversely, the worst you credit score is, the less attractive the offers look like to you.

Besides situations dealing with credit, credit scores are also often used

* as part of a hiring decision
* as part of an apartment rental application

This may seem like an invasion of privacy but many companies are doing it.

What lowers a credit score?

* The biggest thing affecting your credit score is probably going to be missed or late payments. A lender hates seeing this on a credit report. Who wants to lend money to somebody who has shown themselves to be a bad borrower?
* Having balances too close to the maximum amount allowed on credit cards also lower a credit score.
* Applying for too many credit cards in a short amount of time lowers a credit score.

As it is already said that the higher credit score shows better affordability so the lender checks the buyers credit score before approving any loan. So if you have a credit score higher than 720 then you can get mortgage loans or any other kind of loans with lower interest rates and better loan terms. It is important here to say that there are different kinds of government approved loans where your credit score is not checked.

If you have a lower credit score then also you can improve your credit score quickly. It may take three to 6 months to improve your credit score but if you have declared Bankruptcy or faced foreclosure then it may take a lot of time to improve your credit score. Your credit score can be completely changed in three months if you take care of your credit score.

Now if you want to improve your credit score then make all your payments on time and do not close your old accounts. If you close old accounts and starts new accounts then it does not have a good impression on your credit score. So try to maintain your old accounts. Do not check your credit score frequently. It is better to check your credit once or twice in a year. Hope these will help.

Credit Score:

Credit score is  very important to get a mortgage loan or any types of loans and lenders will check your credit score before approving you for a loan. So you should have a better credit score to get approve a mortgage loan with better rates and affordable terms. If your credit score is more than 720 then it will be considered as a good credit score and it will help you to get the rates and terms that you want. If you have credit score between 600 to 680 then it will be considered as a so so good and you may be able to get approve for mortgage loans but rates and terms will not be very favorable.

If your credit score is below 600 then your credit score is not in a very good condition and the lender may be interested to approve for a loan. Even if any lender approves you for a loan then he will charge a higher interest rate. So to have a good credit score is really important.

How to maintain a credit score?

We know that maintaining a good credit score is very important but how to maintain the good credit score.  With a few simple steps you can maintain your credit score in a good condition. Please follow the points mentioned below.

1. Try to pay your monthly mortgage payments or all the other bills on time.

2.  Do not close your old bank accounts or old credit cards. That will really help.

3.  If you have any wrong information on your credit report, try to correct it as soon as possible.

4. Do not check your credit score too often. This can drop your credit score.

These points will certainly help you to gain a good credit score. But you should keep it in mind that your credit will not improve within a day. IT will take time. So be patient and your credit score bound to improve. It’s no magic… all Logic.