GavaldaFX Forex Blog

The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) is a fairly recent law that was approved by the government that permits every citizen to get a free credit report every year. This law came about thanks to the shocking increase in I. D. theft. Your free credit reports are typically available by ordering them online, through a toll free number, or by mail and you can order your credit reports from all 3 of the credit reporting agencies – Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion.

The Only Official Website for Requesting Your credit Report

You should not have to worry about free credit report tricks as the three credit reporting agencies have setup an official internet site, annualcreditreport.com, where you can request your free credit report once each year. They also have a toll free number, 1-877-322-8228, and a mail address, 1-877-322-8228. You can print out the form from the FTC’s web site at ftc.gov / credit.

Free Credit Report Cons

With this new law and the simplicity at which you can securely order your credit reports, there should be no free credit report scams. Sadly, most of the people do not know about their rights and so they search online for free credit reports. The identity thieves and scam artists have taken advantage of ignorant folks by setting up their own credit report internet sites to con you.

These free credit report trick web sites normally charge you a little fee to get your credit reports when in fact they are in fact free. There are other fake credit report websites that may offer you free credit reports but they might ask you for private info like your social security number or your credit card information.

Some of these trick sites will use this information to steal your identity and leave you with obligations and other legal problems. Others, while not necessarily illegal, will trick you into a free trial and then charge your credit card for a once a month charge after the free trial has ended. Please do not fall for these con sites; use the official contact information above.

What to Look out For so You Don’t Get Conned

Some of the trick sites will attempt to trick you by using an identical name to the official free credit report site; put simply they can register a website domain name quitey near to the official annualcreditreport.com site. They do this in the hope that somebody will make a spelling error while typing in the address. Other scam sites will use the name “free credit scores”, “free credit reports”, or “free credit monitoring” in their web address – they are possibly tricks.

Other scams involve the utilization of e-mail or telephone. The impostors will say that they’re from either the annualcreditreport.com site or from one of the 3 credit reporting agencies. They might ask you for private info or they can direct you thru a link in the email to a bogus credit report site. Don’t give out any private info over the phone unless you were the one that instituted the call, and do not click any links in email from these kind of free credit report offers. Also, be aware of pop-ups, when surfing the web, that offer you free credit reports.

Request Your Free Credit Reports

Remember to always request your credit reports by way of the official contact details above. The Net is a superb source of info but it is also home to a bunch of good for nothing con artists expecting to make a quick buck. One reason to request your credit reports every year is to keep an eye out for any unusual activity that could mean you are a victim of I. D. theft. One more reason is to check your reports for any info that’s incorrect that would have effects on your credit score – you can and should try and raise your credit score.

Now that you know how to order your credit reports safely, your next task might be to Repair Your Credit yourself or read William’s report of an easy and quick way to Raise Your Credit Score by 135 points or more without using credit repair companies or services.

categories: credit reports,credit repair,free credit report scams,credit score,free credit reports,identity theft,personal finance