Annually, consumers are entitled to one free credit report. This free report does not include a credit score but does allow consumers to review their credit histories, correct mistakes and misinformation, and overall keep tabs on their financial situation. Because people are working harder to beef up their good credit, companies are taking advantage of the opportunity by advertising free credit reports in exchange for becoming a member of a credit monitoring service. This monitoring service generally charges a fee each month, which many times is automatically deducted from a credit card account. Consumers just looking to receive a free copy of their annual credit report are often mislead and not fully understand the consequences of their signing up for membership.

The FTC is taking steps to clarify when free doesn’t really mean free. A new disclosure will be required on print advertising of credit monitoring services beginning April 1st. Starting in September, the disclosure will be also be displayed on television and radio advertisements. This notice states:

‘THIS NOTICE IS REQUIRED BY LAW. Read more at FTC.GOV. You have the right to a free credit report from AnnualCreditReport.com or 877-322-8228, the ONLY authorized source under federal law.’

There have also been reports of visitors going to AnnualCreditReport.com and being automatically re-directed to a paid website that offers credit monitoring services. This action likely was the result of visitors clicking paid advertisements which will no longer be displayed on the site until after consumers have ordered their free credit reports.

Consumers who have not regularly been checking their credit histories are encouraged to do so because many financial decisions are based on histories and credit scores. Lenders, insurance company, landlords, and even potential employers may access your credit report to base decisions and interest rates on how you rank financially. By requesting a free report, you can stay on top of your information and know where you stand. After receiving the free copy of a report, subsequent reports will cost a flat-fee. No one is required to sign up for credit monitoring services unless they choose to do so.

FTC Clarifies the ‘Free’ In Free Credit Report was created by and is property of American Consumer News.

Believe it or not, there are many parents who will learn their own child has been a victim or identity theft as the number of reported cases to the Federal Trade Commission has been steady rising in the new millennium. But how do you know if your child’s credit or name is in jeopardy? Well, there are a few ways to tell. It is your job as the parent to take charge and make sure your child’s identity is protected. Here is what you can do to protect your children from fraud:

Pay Attention to the Mail
Have you noticed that your child has started getting offers in the mail for credit cards or solicitations for new products and services. This may not be a sure sign your child’s information is being misused but it can definitely be a red flag warning. It is possible that someone who has stolen your child’s information, you will see bills in their name but it doesn’t always happen that way.

Become Diligent About School and Extra-Curricular Activity Applications
As any parent of a school-aged child can tell you, sending your child to school or out for the soccer team, requires a ton of paperwork and information about your child, including social security numbers and date of birth. Because of the sensitive nature of this information, you need to ensure that your paperwork is always returned to school and the coaches in a sealed envelope. You want to make sure your child turns in important information directly to the teacher and that applications are not left to float around the school.

Know Where Your Child Goes Online
With popular sites like Facebook, there is no telling what your child will post online about themselves or their private information. Younger children may have no concept as to how another person can misuse social security numbers or birth dates against them. As a parent, you should not allow younger children to use the internet without your participation. For older children, be very direct about the dangers of revealing too much personal information to online sources. In some cases involving the internet, identity theft can be the least of the worries.

Request a Credit Report
If you even suspect something is not right concerning your child’s credit, contact the credit bureas and request a copy in your child’s name. If you receive a reply that your child does not have a credit report from any of the agency, be glad. It means that there has been no fraudulent activity using your child’s name. However, if you find that there is credit in your kid’s name, report it immediately.

One of the main reasons this situation can become out of control is that many families will not realize young children can be victims of identity fraud; therefore no one will ever think to check up on a credit report. The thieves can then use the credit of the young victim for years before anyone ever realizes anything bad has happened. Protecting your whole family from fraud and identity theft is now a common occurrence. Don’t let your child get taken for a ride and fall deep in debt before their college years or you may find it very hard to get them back out.

Are Your Kids The Next Victims of Identity Theft? was created by and is property of American Consumer News.

“If I have a lot of money, I’ll have a good credit score.” Your credit score is not based on any wealth that you have what-so-ever. It’s completely based on your existing and past credit. 35% of your credit score is based on your past payment history, 30% is based on your existing debt, 15% is based on your length of credit history, 10% is based on new credit that you apply for and another 10% is based on the types of credit that you use. Hypothetically you could be a multi-millionaire and not have enough data to calculate a credit score if you never borrow money.

“If I check my credit report, my score will go down.” You can personally check your credit report as many times as you would like without having it effect affect you score. The one and only site to get a free credit report is AnnualCreditReport.com, if you want to find out your credit score, you’ll need to head on over to MyFico.com, all of the other sites wishing to provide you a free credit report will end up costing you money in the long run.

“I should pay off my credit cards and close them to increase my credit score.” Paying down your credit cards is an excellent idea to improve your credit score, but after the balance is paid off, do not under any means close the account. By closing the account you are essentially increasing the percentage of debt that you are using of all the debt that you have available to you, which will negatively affect your score.

“You only have one credit score.” You actually have three different credit scores from Transunion, Equifax, and Experian. Each of these companies might also have different types of scores for you. The one most commonly used by the financial industry is the FICO score; if you purchase your credit score, make sure that you are getting a FICO score rather than some other calculated number.

“If I shop around for loans, my credit score will be damaged.” It’s true that if you apply for a lot of new loans, credit cards and other accounts that your credit score will go down, but if you apply for the same type of loan at different banks and financial institution within 14 days of each other, it will only count as one application so your credit score will be very minimally affected.

“My spouse’s credit score will affect mine.” People tend to think that when they get married that there credit scores become one, but this is not the case. You still have individual credit scores, and whenever you both sign for something, say your home loan, it will appear on both of your reports. If only one of you signs for something, it will sign up on only the person who signed for it’s report and not their spouse.

6 Things Most People Get Wrong About Their Credit Scores was created by and is property of American Consumer News.

Because of the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003, Americans have the right to obtain their C.L.U.E reports every year just as they can with their credit reports. ChoicePoint has setup a website called www.ChoiceTrust.com which will enable you to check out your personal home, personal auto and personal health insurance on a yearly basis. You’ll have to fill out a few simple forms and provide your Social Security number, and then they’ll provide you those reports for free.

Once you get your report, you’ll see a listing of all of the claims you’ve had on your various insurances in the last five years. These will be things such as stays in the hospital, car accident claims, home-owner’s insurance claims and the like. You should carefully look at each of your reports to make sure that there isn’t anything that was accidentally put on your report that isn’t yours, or that something of yours wasn’t reported properly.

If you find a mistake on your C.L.U.E report, you can contact ChoicePoint at 866-718-7864 and report the item as inaccurate. ChoicePoint will take your complaint, try to verify the information with the insurance company or other organization that reported it, and then get back to you within 30 days of what they found out.

It’s very important to make sure that your C.L.U.E report is accurate, if there are claims on there that aren’t yours, you could look a lot less beneficial to potential insurers, meaning that you might get turned down for health insurance, automobile insurance, homeowner’s insurance, or life insurance.

You check your credit report, but what about your C.L.U.E report? was created by and is property of American Consumer News.