(Not) Free Credit Report
USA Today has an article about the scammy companies who offer a free credit report but charge you 70 bucks for it. You can get one credit report for free from the three large credit reporting agencies every year, and it's good to do so to make sure no one has committed some fraud and ruined your credit.
Here are good pieces of advice from the story:
* If you're uncomfortable with Internet security, consider ordering your credit reports by phone or mail. To order by phone, call 877-322-8228. To order by mail, print out the request form from www.annualcreditreport.com, fill it out and send it to: Annual Credit Report Request Service, P.O. Box 105281, Atlanta, GA 30348-5281.
* Link to the legitimate site through the Federal Trade Commission's Internet site, www.ftc.gov. When you go to www.ftc.gov, you'll see two buttons that link to the official site, says Lydia Parnes, director of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection.
Free credit reports were mandated by a federal law enacted in 2003. The program has been rolled out across the country since December, starting with the West Coast. East Coast residents will be eligible to order their free reports starting Sept. 1.
Here are good pieces of advice from the story:
* If you're uncomfortable with Internet security, consider ordering your credit reports by phone or mail. To order by phone, call 877-322-8228. To order by mail, print out the request form from www.annualcreditreport.com, fill it out and send it to: Annual Credit Report Request Service, P.O. Box 105281, Atlanta, GA 30348-5281.
* Link to the legitimate site through the Federal Trade Commission's Internet site, www.ftc.gov. When you go to www.ftc.gov, you'll see two buttons that link to the official site, says Lydia Parnes, director of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection.
Free credit reports were mandated by a federal law enacted in 2003. The program has been rolled out across the country since December, starting with the West Coast. East Coast residents will be eligible to order their free reports starting Sept. 1.
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