Does buy now pay later (BNPL) affect your credit score? For years, the honest answer was “barely.” That answer is changing, and it is changing right before the biggest shopping weekend of the year. Black Friday is November 27. Millions of people will split a TV, a laptop or a stack of gifts into four easy payments at checkout. The …

Identity theft on your credit report rarely announces itself. You find it by accident. A card you never opened. A collection for a phone plan you never had. A denial letter for a loan you were sure you would get. And this is the season it happens most. From Black Friday through New Year’s, millions of people type their card …