Captain’s Log 26 (I’m Thinking of a Number…)
I’m thinking of a number between 500 and 800. Know what it is?
It’s the remaining balance in my bank account after I gave my valuable information to a scam artist.
(Sounds like the FreeCreditReport.com TV advertisement I’ve been told… and no, I didn’t really have my account stolen.)
Free credit reporting agencies exist all over the Internet and we see their advertisements on television all the time (granted we watch television). How do we know which credit reporting agencies are legit?
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) requires this nation’s three consumer reporting agencies, Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion to provide you with your credit report at least once every 12 months to be in compliance with the Fair Credit Reporting Act, only at your request however.
Warning: Some Websites Steal Your Information!
How could this be? From the FTC:
“Only one website is authorized to fill orders for the free annual credit report you are entitled to under law – annualcreditreport.com. Other websites that claim to offer “free credit reports,” “free credit scores,” or “free credit monitoring” are not part of the legally mandated free annual credit report program. In some cases, the “free” product comes with strings attached. For example, some sites sign you up for a supposedly “free” service that converts to one you have to pay for after a trial period. If you don’t cancel during the trial period, you may be unwittingly agreeing to let the company start charging fees to your credit card.
Some “imposter” sites use terms like “free report” in their names; others have URLs that purposely misspell annualcreditreport.com in the hope that you will mistype the name of the official site. Some of these “imposter” sites direct you to other sites that try to sell you something or collect your personal information.”
All in all, it is a good idea (and highly suggested) that you check your credit at least once a year to guarantee that the information is accurate and you have not succumbed to identity theft.
The FTC (http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/credit/freereports.htm )lists the three websites as well as more valuable answers to frequently asked questions. Please visit the above link to get more information about your credit report as well as the websites of the three credit reporting agencies mentioned above.
[...] always talked about how NOT to become a victim of identity theft. Ways to prevent it such as monitoring your credit reports (they are free by the way) and speaking at different events (those are [...]
Captain’s Log 29 (When the Crap Hits YOUR Fan) « I’ll take “Things Only I Know” for $2,000, Alex. said this on February 13th, 2007 at 4:12 pm