How to Get a Free Credit Report

You may want to obtain a credit report and you are entitled to view it as well as your credit score under a variety of circumstances. In fact, as of 2003 consumers are entitled to a free copy of their credit report once a year from all the three major credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion).

The easiest and probably best way to get it is to go to Annual Credit Report.com. This is an online portal that was set up by the three major credit reporting agencies as mentioned above.

This has been done under the guidance of the Federal Trade Commission to offer consumers the right to know what is on their financial records. This online assistance helps especially in the case of suspected fraud as you can instantly access your financial history.

In the event that identity theft has been detected, alerts are placed on the file and then it makes it harder for thieves to make further inquiries. However, this is not the only reason that people seek copies of their credit report, as it is usually just used as a guide.

Seeking an online credit report is not the only way you can check your records though. You can request a copy of your records by writing a letter to the appropriate agencies. Usually this takes about 14 days by mail.

There are advantages to requesting it by mail. One of which would be that it just seems far more “official.” However, many people today prefer the convenience of using the internet and would rather obtain their report instantly.

Security Tips

In case of an imposter webmaster trying to make you think you are at the real Annual Credit Report.com and you are not, take precaution. The official website has a VeriSign seal on it which helps confirm the authenticity of this particular web-based credit report retrieval system.

You may also find other websites that help in this regard. Be very careful though because if you are not sure where the information is coming from you could get your identity stolen.

Furthermore, there also is some reputable downloadable credit report software out there, but be careful. You could introduce your computer to a world of unwanted viruses that could steal all your financial information.

No matter how you access your free credit report, remember to use a secure server. This is especially true if you are using paid monitoring services.