Business & Finance Personal Finance

Annual Credit Report Tips

    • It is important to check your credit reportcredit card image by feisty from Fotolia.com

      With identity theft on the rise, it has never been more important for consumers to stay on top of their credit reports. The information contained in your credit report has a strong impact on every aspect of your financial life, from your employment prospects to the interest rate you pay on your car loan, home mortgage and credit cards. Fortunately the government has passed a law that entitles every consumer to a free copy of his or her credit report on an annual basis. Unfortunately there is a great deal of confusion among consumers regarding how to access these free credit reports.

    Choose the Right Website

    • If you need a truly free copy of your credit report, it is important to point your browser to the right Internet site. There are a number of companies touting free credit reports, but most of them are not truly free. Many of those companies go on to sign consumers up for a number of pay services, resulting in monthly credit card charges that can be difficult to stop.

      If you are looking for the free credit report required by the government, go to annualcreditreport.com (see Resources). This is the only site where consumers can access the free credit reports required by law.

    Stagger Your Reports

    • The federal law mandating free access to credit reports allows consumers to access their credit reports from all three major credit reporting agencies--TransUnion, Equifax and Experian. You can choose to look at all three of your credit reports at one time, or you can stagger the reports and access one report at a time, such as one every four months. This second strategy can be much more effective in terms of spotting identity theft since the time between reports will be much shorter. Place a reminder on your desk calendar or set reminders in your email program to check just one of the three credit reports every four months instead of checking all three reports just once a year.

    Check Your Report Carefully

    • In order to spot identity theft and credit report errors, it is important to examine your report closely. When you get your free credit report, be sure to check your name and address for any errors. It is not unusual for such simple errors to appear on credit reports, so don't overlook this important section.

      After you have reviewed your personal information, carefully check the accounts section for any errors. If you spot credit cards that you do not recognize as your own, you could be looking at identity theft. Be sure to contact the credit reporting agency as soon as possible to report any suspicious activity you find.

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