According to the Federal Trade Commission ( FTC ), the federal agency responsible for protecting consumers ’ rights and interests , you should check your credit history every time after a major purchase and routinely every 3 to 4 years to make sure it’s free of errors and unauthorized credit charges . Your credit history is your financial biography . It can determine interest rates and even job position s. Credit history inquiries by lenders , other service providers , and employers are reflected in your credit report where they remain for two years .
There are three major national credit bureaus ( read legitimate , authorized , safe ), also called Consumer Reporting Agencies ( CRAs ): Equifax ( www . Equifax . com ), Transunion ( www . transunion . com ), and Experian ( www . experian . com ). These agencies provide a number of credit consumer services , including letting you check your credit history report . Transunion even offers a free online credit report to consumers signing up for a 30 day trial online membership with the agency . If you ’ re not buying into the offer , the price to view your credit report range from $ 9 to $ 39 . 95 , depending on whether you ’ d like a snap shot of the report , an all inclusive report from the three agencies , or a score analysis added .
If you ’ re not satisfied with these offers , you may choose to hunt for a free online credit report . There are many imposters sites offering a free online credit report in order to get your personal information and misuse it or resell it to a third equally harmful party . In this case , be mindful of the following FTC suggestions :
- Check if the company has a working phone number and legitimate address and phone number
- Check if the email address matches the Web site address .
- Find out who owns the Web site by using a " Whois " search, such as the search at www . networksolutions . com .
- Exit from any Web site that asks for unnecessary personal information , like a Personal Identification Number ( PIN ) for your bank account , the three - digit code on the back of your credit card , or your passport number and issuing country . Legitimate sites don ' t ask for this information .
- All legitimate sites will want to verify who you are , and will respond to an electronic request for a credit report by asking you for an additional piece of information . If a site does not ask a follow - up question , the site is almost certainly a fake .
- Only u se secure Web sites . Look for the " lock " icon on the browser ' s status bar , and the phrase " https " in the URL address , to be sure your information is secure during transmission . All real sites are secure .
- Report suspicious activity to the FTC and the U . S . Secret Service . Send the actual spam to the Los Angeles Electronic Crimes Task Force and FTC . If you believe you ' ve been scammed , file your complaint at www . ftc . gov , and then visit the FTC ' s Identity Theft Web site to learn how to minimize your risk of damage from identity theft .
For more information about imposters offering free online credit reports and other theft identity issues , visit www . ifc . gov .
By Vanina Sloan