Posts Tagged ‘credit report com’
How to Prevent Credit Report Fraud
While trying to seek your credit report there are a number of ways that unscrupulous thieves can take advantage of you. They will find any way to steal your identity and one way would be for them to offer fake “free credit report” opportunities.
The main way they get you is to require a credit card even if it is supposed to be a free trial. However, sometimes they try to cancel and put additional charges on top of the ones you already made.
They also then try to make it difficult for you to cancel your free trial. Then you are stuck paying probably for additional services you no longer even want.
Prevention Tips
Make sure you go to a recommended source to obtain a free credit report. Annual Credit Report.com is probably your best choice, but any comparable to this that are reputable would be fine.
If you must use a credit card because you think the additional credit monitoring services may help you then keep the following in mind:
- Never sign up unless you know the server is secure. This will prevent third-party fraud.
- Never give your credit card number to a company that you do not recognize. This will reduce risk of later becoming the victim of unauthorized charges.
- Make sure you verify the name of the company providing credit report monitoring services. Verisign seal information is one way to do this, or you could check with the Better Business Bureau if you have any doubts.
- Only fill out the information that is required. Be very careful about to whom you give your social security card, driver’s license, birth date, and other information.
- Do not pay for any services you could get for free. For instance, you can have free fraud alerts placed on your annual credit report.
A Brief Profile of Annual Credit Report.com
Sometimes when seeking a free credit report it helps to learn a little bit about the resources available to you. One of these is Annual Credit Report.com.
Background Info
Annual Credit Report.com is a company that was created by Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. These are the three major nationwide credit agencies that are in compliance with federal guidelines set once the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACT Act) was passed in 2003.
The main objective of Annual Credit Report.com is to provide consumers with the one free credit report they are entitled to once every 12 months. Information presented in this complementary document would be provided by one of the three major credit bureaus mentioned above.
Services Offered
People who request documents from Annual Credit Report.com are presented them in a very speedy manner. They can obtain them very quickly-in much less time than they would if they have requested them by telephone or mail.
In addition to request of a instant free credit report, this free service started by Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion offers much more. You receive information pertaining to all questions people have about receiving credit reports.
Additional assistance provided by Annual Credit Report.com includes this:
- Simple provision of information for people who want to learn how they can place an identify theft fraud alert on their file
- Referral to rules and regulations for consumers set by the Fair Credit Reporting Act
- Answers to questions about security when seeking a free credit report
- Information on how to only receive an online report but how to receive one by mail or phone
- References to information as well as basic answers about prevention of further identity theft action
- Information about access to credit reports for vision impaired individuals
- Provision of fraud alert contact information of all three major credit bureaus