You have the right to obtain one free credit report each year from each bureau. How important is it that you check your credit reports regularly? The short answer is – very. Identity theft is the fastest growing crime in the United States with over 10 million victims each year. And with so many options available to check your credit file, there is really no reason to leave your good name out in the cold even if you can’t afford better identity theft protection solutions.
How To Get A Free Credit Report
1. You can check your credit reports once a year for free no matter what. All you have to do is go to annualcreditreport.com, the site set up by the federal government, and put in your order. You will need to verify some personal information, like your address and Social Security number, but be assured that this site is legitimate. If you don’t feel comfortable revealing your information over the Internet, you can also order your reports in the mail or by phone.
Savvy consumers will check one bureau the first time – either Equifax, Experian or TransUnion – and then check the second and third bureaus at subsequent four month intervals so that they can essentially get a good look at their information all year round. This is usually satisfactory since the bureaus tend to share information with one another, but it is not a completely fail safe method.
2. You can get a free report each time you are denied credit. If you get turned down unexpectedly for a loan or credit card, it’s imperative that your order your credit report as soon as possible. This is often when individuals first realize that their information has been compromised. Directions should be enclosed with the denial letter you receive in the mail. You only have a certain window of time in order to obtain your report free of charge.
3. There are lots of credit monitoring services out there. Although there are many different options as far as credit monitoring goes, there is one thing they offer almost universally: access to credit reports, either from one bureau or from all three depending on your plan. If you’re signed up for credit monitoring don’t forget to take advantage of all that the service offers you.
If you don’t want to order your free annual credit report yourself a few identity protection companies such as LifeLock will order it on your behalf if you are enrolled in their service.
Unlike your credit report, you may not be able to come by your credit score quite so cheaply. However, this number is very important. It’s basically how lenders choose whether to offer you credit, and if so, at what rate. If you want to get your hands on this number, you may have to shell out a couple bucks. Alternately, you can sign up for a credit monitoring service that includes your credit score in its product package, for example, Experian’s Score Watch or Identity Guard include score from all three bureaus.