Free Credit Reports
With all of the false
email messages posing as banks (phishing) and all of the corporate sites that
get compromised (Bank of America, Choice Data, Lexis/Nexis, etc.) it's easy
for your personal info to end up in the wrong hands.
The three major credit
bureaus (Equifax, TransUnion and Experian) are now required by law to provide
you with a free copy of your credit report each year. Actual credit scores
cost extra. Occasionally, the bureaus may have website errors requiring you to
go through their phone number to get the additional info, so beware of that.
Your best bet may be to use the phone number.
You can also go to www.annualcreditreport.com and get the
information for free! This is a great way to check whether you have been the
victim of identity theft. Look for any unrecognized inquiry or account on your
reports. Many bureaus now offer a fee-based service to protect your credit
report from identity theft. It would require any merchant, bank or individual
to know a secret PIN number to access your account data.
You can request the free
credit reports in three ways:
- Over the Internet by going
to - www.annualcreditreport.com (Be careful
not to make ANY typos when using this web address, it is the only
official free site run by the government, the rest of the Internet Web
sites advertising "free" reports -- 98 of them -- are in fact
imposters whose real agenda is to steer unsuspecting consumers into a
for-profit marketing enterprise. If you make any typo in that address or
use any other site you are not going to get a free report.)
- By phone - 877-322-8228
- By completing the Annual
Credit Report Request Form, and mailing it to: Annual Credit Report
Request Service, P.O. Box 105281, Atlanta, GA 30348-5281.
For more information,
visit www.nfpa.org or www.aaa.com.
