← Ask the Money Coach: 5 Steps to Take When a Relative Ruins Your Credit

credit-ruined-family-member-intro-620×480.jpg

By Elayne Fluker | Published October 20, 2011 | Full size is 620 × 480 pixels

Being victimized by identity theft is bad enough. But the sting is particularly harsh if you find out that the perpetrator is a family member who has used your name, social security number or credit in order to obtain loans, make purchases, or initiate financial transactions without your authorization or consent. Even worse is a family member who wrecks your credit by taking out utility bills or credit cards in your name and then fails to pay those bills. What should you do in such a sticky circumstance? Read on for advice on how to handle this thorny, but unfortunately all-too-common, situation.---Lynnette Khalfani-Cox, AsktheMoneyCoach.com

Being victimized by identity theft is bad enough. But the sting is particularly harsh if…