New years resolutions are a great way to give your self a fresh start in areas of your life that you have neglected. Whether it is going to the gym, or quitting a bad habit, your resolutions can soon have you feeling like a new person. While improving these aspects of your well being are important, this year, you may also want to give some thought to improving the Digital You.

Through life, you make financial and online decisions that affect the way others perceive the Digital You. People, businesses and even criminals will make decisions about you based on the digital footprint you leave behind.

This is why improving the Digital You should be at the forefront of your resolutions this year. We’ve even provided a guide to help you get started.

Finances

Credit

Your credit health is one of the most telling factors of your financial well being. While it is isn’t as accessible to people as other parts of the Digital You (eg. your online activity), it still has the ability to severely influence your life. It can affect purchasing a home, having your loans approved, and even your likelihood of receiving employment.

Try and make improving your credit one of your resolutions this year. Scores Matter is here to help you get started.

We provide instant access to your credit report and score so that you can create your own strategy to improve your standing. We also provide you with tips and guides like how you can improve your credit score so that you are always progressing.

It is a sure fire way to know you are sticking to your resolution.

Affordability

One of the best ways to improve or maintain your financial health is to not take on more than you can afford. Lenders look at more than just credit files when assessing whether you can repay a loan. This is why we offer our Loan Affordability tool so you can ensure you are only applying for loans you can afford and not tarnishing the way lenders perceive the Digital You.

Our tool grants you the ability to see all of your past, present and future in Loan Affordability terms and provides insight on how to improve your chances of receiving the loans you want in the future.

It’s just another way you can use ScoresMatter to improve the Digital You.

Privacy

2018 was another year riddled with massive data breaches that even the largest companies are failing to avoid.

• Facebook Could Receive a Billion Dollar Fine Following Recent Breach
• Marriott Starwood Database Breached
• Quora Breached: 100 million accounts compromised
• Report Reveals Equifax Breach was Preventable
• Uber Fined for 2016 Breach
• Reddit Hacked- Account Info Compromised
• LinkedIn Used 18 Million Non Member Emails for Facebook Ad Targeting

The truth is, when you entrust your information with any large corporations it is at risk of becoming collateral during one of these breaches.

So what can you do outside of stopping your involvement with these services? For starters, you can try being diligent about monitoring your information. One of the best ways to do this is by going straight to the source of where a lot of leaked information ends up, the Dark Web.

If your information is available on the Dark Web, it compromises parts of the Digital You that you don’t want criminals to have access to.

With ScoresMatter, you can scan the Dark Web and see if criminals are trading or selling your personal details. You can also learn what you can do if we do find your information on the Dark Web.

While you can’t trust criminals or corporations to make improving the way they handle your data part of their new year resolutions, you can make monitoring what happens with it yours.

Online

Being aware of what you do online is the easiest way to begin shaping the Digital You. Any activity you do online is immediately engrained on the web for the world to see. This digital footprint leaves a trail for others to follow and create their perceptions about you. The way others perceive you can affect your employment, education, and even your insurance premiums.

That means a single post, status updates, or photo holds the potential to affect you in both positive and negative ways. It’s up to you to decide how you want to be perceieved.

This new year is your chance to make proactive decisions about your online behaviour. In our blogs, we provide ways you can improve your online presence and even stand out amongst others. Make sure you are following our blogs to see the most up-to-date tips on how you can use your online presence wisely.

Tap into the Digital You at ScoresMatter and make us an active part of helping you stick to your new year’s resolutions.