Finally - Free Credit Reports!
After a long wait, consumers can obtain the congressionally mandated (the
Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003) credit report
due yearly to each American. Free of charge, the reports can be obtained
from the three largest credit reporting firms.
These reports can be requested through www.AnnualCreditReport.com, a new
web site that offers tools to help the consumer guard against identity
theft and provide ways to monitor their credit files.
Those living on the West Coast are getting first crack at the service
of the web site, as the availability of the free credit reports are being
phased in by region, moving from West to East over the next 9 months.
The phase-in started in December, 2004 for the West, with the Eastern
regions reports becoming available in september, 2005.
It's worth noting that the secure site uses a number of methods to keep
your identifying data safe from snoops in transit, which is a good thing,
as they require a good deal of specific information. Operated by the three
firms it serves (Equifax, Experian and Transunion), it's a fairly easy
to navigate site for most people, but be sure to have your financial information
available as you work through the verification process.
If there are factual problems that you see in your report, it's recommended
that you go directly to the credit reporting agency that generated the
report. If you need advice concerning your credit report, you might check
with the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse (www.privacyrightsclearinghouse.org),
Consumers Union (www.consumersunion.org)
or the Identity Theft Resource Center (www.idtheftcenter.org)*.
There
are three ways to contact this resource:
go to: www.AnnualCreditReport.com
or by telephone ....1-877-322-8228
or by mail....PO Box 105281, Atlanta, GA 30348-5281*
Don't
forget to read the
Identity
Theft Update!
A
look at ID theft in California in 2004
*
Note! These links reside off the ATDFCU
website, and are neither maintained nor verified for accuracy by ATDFCU.
The
privacy and security policies may be different than those of ATDFCU.
ATDFCU
is not responsible for the contents of these sites.
ATDFCU
does not represent the third party or the member if they enter into a
transaction