Identity Theft- it Could Happen to You- Free Credit Report
Our economy is in a sorry state these days. Things seem to be lurching towards an outright recession and all of us are feeling the pinch. With financial matters being in crisis, it is even harder to keep your credit score high. The mortgage meltdown is still playing out and banks and other lenders are tightening their restrictions for home loans, it’s getting more and more difficult to get ahead. Whether or not you are aware of it, your credit score is affected by several factors and can change in an instant.
Right now, it is a great time to buy a home. While the market is not so kind to sellers at the moment, buyers have a lot of latitude for wheeling and dealing. A lot of people begin looking for a house before even finding out what the standing of their credit rating is and are denied home loans without knowing why. Right now, it may not seem important to you to know what your credit score is or see your credit report, but you can get a lot of benefit from knowing how your credit standing is. Before looking into home loans, one of the vest best things you can do is to find out how to obtain free credit reports.
Once you have the free credit report in your hands, you will be able to see your scores and any blemishes that have been posted. Even if you aren?t looking to get a loan, the government has made it so that you can obtain free credit reports once every twelve months. Quite a few people look at their reports and realize that there is incorrect information. It may be a simple fix or one that requires some complicated fixes, but at least you will be able to find out what is being reported under your name and credit.
An amendment to the Fair Credit Reporting Act mandates that consumers can get a free credit report annually from all three of the credit reporting agencies – TransUnion, Experian and Equifax. The FTC warns consumers that there are plenty of scams to watch out for who prey on people seeking to obtain free credit reports. Most of these “opportunities” are in fact scams and can result in you giving your personal information to unscrupulous operators or paying a fee for something which you ca get for free by law.
These sites might ask you to buy something or join something in order to obtain free credit reports. Don’t fall for it. There is a place where you can obtain free annual credit report cards, this is http://www.annualcreditreport.com. The government suggests this site as a place to obtain free credit reports. If you had to pay for your credit report or feel that you were otherwise defrauded, file a complaint with the FTC. You might not see that money again, but you can help to prevent them from scamming other consumers.
