Visit AnnualCreditReport.com Now
Under federal law, every American is entitled to one report per year from each of the three major credit bureaus — Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion — at absolutely no cost, through AnnualCreditReport.com. This is the only federally authorized source. The process takes about 20 minutes, requires no credit card, and can surface problems that would otherwise go unnoticed for months.
What You Are Looking For
As you review each report, watch for four specific things: accounts you did not open, addresses you have never lived at, inquiries you did not authorize (each inquiry shows up when someone applies for credit in your name), and balances or payment histories that do not match your records.
Any one of those four items can be an early sign of identity theft. Catching it in a credit report — before an unknown account goes to collections or before a fraudulent mortgage or car loan is finalized — is dramatically easier to resolve than catching it after the damage is done.
Checking your own credit report does not affect your credit score. It is a "soft inquiry" and has zero impact on your score, regardless of how often you check.
A Smart Way to Space Them Out
Because you are entitled to one report per bureau per year, many financial advisors recommend requesting one bureau's report every four months instead of all three at once — Equifax in January, Experian in May, TransUnion in September, for example. That way you have a fresh look at your credit profile three times a year instead of one.
If you find an error, each bureau has an online dispute process. Submit the dispute with any documentation you have — account statements, letters, ID verification — and the bureau is required by law to investigate and respond within 30 days.
Start with AnnualCreditReport.com. Pull one report today. It costs nothing and takes less time than most people expect.
With care,
Mike Bridges
Founder, The O55 Report