Pop quiz! True or false:

Closing a credit card always decreases your credit score.

It is possible to lock all of your credit reports at once.

Utility payments are always included in credit scores.

Marital status affects your credit report.

Checking your credit score has an impact on your credit report.

If you said “false” to all of these, then you’re ahead of a bunch of your fellow citizens. Anywhere from 31 to 51 percent of those surveyed didn’t know that, according to a new study from TransUnion.

Want to learn a little more? Check out my guest post on I Pick Up Pennies. It’s an excerpt from “Your Playbook For Tough Times, Vol. 2: Needs And Wants Edition” – and if you act soon, you might win a copy.

 

One e-copy of “Playbook Vol. 2” will be given to a reader chosen at random. You must enter by 11:59 p.m. PDT Thursday, July 20. It’s an easy entry: Just leave a comment on the post.

 

More credit (dis)information

My own least favorite credit myth is that carrying a balance will improve your credit score. That will not happen. Pay your bill in full each month.

“There are so many stories out there of people who have struggled to make ends meet because they made mistakes that damaged their credit early in life,” notes Heather Battinson, vice president of TransUnion.

As I mention in “Playbook Vol. 2,” it doesn’t matter whether or not you think the current credit scoring is fair. Fact is, it exists and has the potential to cost you a bundle. (See “struggled to make ends meet,” above.) You don’t have to like the current system. You just need to learn to work within it.

Millennials already have, if the Chase Slate Credit Outlook Survey is any indication. The study showed that this cohort is:

Checking scores regularly. About four in 10 (39 percent) check their scores monthly, compared to Gen Xers (31 percent) and Baby Boomers (28 percent).

Aren’t just wishing and hoping. More than six in 10 (62 percent) have plans of action to improve their credit scores.

Are thinking long-term. One-third of millennials plan to buy homes within the next five years, and almost one-fourth (24 percent) plan to buy in the next three years.

“Americans – especially millennials – are planning for their next major milestone,” says personal finance expert Farnoosh Torabi, a “Financial Education Ambassador” for Chase Slate.

“They’re assessing where they stand today and working to improve their tomorrow, whether that means buying a car or home, co-signing on a lease, walking down the aisle or applying for a new job.”

To which I say: Go, millennials! Good on you for figuring out what you want and taking steps to make it happen.

 

More help is needed

A new survey from Experian shows that too many of us aren’t taking fraud and identity theft seriously enough. As in, it’s too much work to protect ourselves.

It’s definitely a worry: 84 percent say they are concerned about security issues when it comes to personal information online. Yet almost two-thirds (64 percent) agreed with the survey statement, “It’s too much of a hassle to constantly worry about securing personal information online.”

Um. Wut?

Also, almost half (48 percent) don’t examine their credit reports regularly for mistakes or signs of identity theft; 56 percent think the risk of identity theft goes away after time; 52 percent figure it’s unlikely they will ever experience identity theft; 53 percent believe that banks and credit card issuers monitor their accounts for them; 72 percent feel that identity thieves prey only on the wealthy.

People, people, people: You can get three credit reports for free each year. (I talk about that in the I Pick Up Pennies article, too.)

Sure, it’s a hassle. So is identity theft and other types of fraud. If you can’t trust yourself to stay on top of it, sign up for some kind of product to do it for you. (Along with the study, Experian introduced something called “IdentityWorks.”)

Understand: This can affect anyone, no matter how broke. Last year more than 15 million U.S. residents were victimized by identity thieves, a rise of 16 percent from 2015. That’s why vigilance is no longer optional. It’s essential.

“Unfortunately, the survey suggests consumers don’t consider these necessities a priority, which makes life easier for fraudsters,” says Michael Bruemmer, vice president of identity protection at Experian.

Be one of the smart ones, and protect yourself. (And go sign up to win my book!)

Readers: Have you ever been the victim of credit card fraud or identity theft?