The recent security breach of Sony’s PlayStation Network serves as a reminder to all of us that it’s a good idea to regularly check your credit report and credit scores for unusual activity or errors. With so much of our lives being conducted online, it’s important to be diligent about your personal security and keep tabs on your credit.

The April attack meant that as many as 77 million Sony PlayStation Network accounts had been compromised by hackers who were able to illegally obtain account holders’ names, e-mail addresses and other PlayStation password information, according to news reports. Even though Sony has said that there is no evidence that credit card information was stolen, the company has offered to provide free identity theft protection service to its affected Sony PlayStation Network customers.

The implication is that illegal use of the credit card and other information could impact some of their customers’ credit …

We hope you’ve enjoyed the pop quizzes published over the past few weeks in honor of Financial Literacy Month. Is it over? Not quite…We we have one more pop quiz to send your way. This one’s on credit card debt.

Plastic has become the slimmer and trimmer way of handling many of our purchases. It’s convenient, yes, but how we use those cards is among a number of markers used to determine your credit score. And how we play our cards can impact our ability to get a loan for bigger-ticket items like a house or car.

Ready to test your credit knowledge? Take the quiz in the box below (if you arrived here through the LendingTree blog main page you will need to click “read more” to see it):

Photo: Horia Varlan, Creative Commons 2.0

Finished? Check back with us the following day to get the answer to this pop quiz …

You’ve taken down the Christmas tree and swept away the last remaining strands of New Year’s confetti. Now it’s time to roll up your sleeves and start making good on those personal finance resolutions. Remember them? You know: Raising your credit score, obtaining a refinance or buying a new home. Some economists predict mortgage rates will head up this year as the economy gets stronger, so now is a good time to check your credit score and figure out whether there are any errors, or if there is a need to improve the score to stay on track with your house financing goals.

What’s In Your Credit Score?

Credit scores are used by lenders to determine your credit risk; the number can influence the kind of interest rates available to you. Most credit scores are based on the FICO scoring model. You should realize that each credit bureau and each mortgage …