Free Annual Credit Reports – Strategies To Avoid Imposter
Websites

In a 2004 amendment to The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), a
new system providing free credit reports was initiated The
amendment requires each of the three national Credit Reporting
Agencies (CRAs), Equifax, TransUnion, and Experian, to provide
free copies of an individual’s credit report once every 12
months The free reports require a request to be submitted to a
centralized office, in accordance with procedures defined by the
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) The FTC is charged with consumer
protection and ensuring compliance to the FCRA from the Credit
Reporting Agencies
The amendment was undertaken as a way to help individuals access
the information contained in their credit reports Prior to the
amendment, credit reporting agencies were able to charge
individuals for every copy of their credit report that they
requested Only under specific circumstances, such as searching
for employment, were credit reports provided free of charge
This undermined fair access for individual’s to access
information about them collected by the CRAs
Understanding what information is in your credit report is
important Only then can you ensure that the information being
reported about you is accurate and up to date Your credit
report impacts your life in many ways, from the ability to
obtain credit to the amount of money you will pay for that
credit
Fair access to such important information is critical The
unfortunate reality is that reporting mistakes do happen Any
errors or misinformation contained on a credit report can have a
tremendous impact on a person’s financial wellbeing, job
prospects, and housing prospects
The amendment mandated the three CRAs to implement a centralized
website, toll free number, and mailing address as methods
individuals may use to request their free credit reports
Although the centralized website was implemented as a way to
offer consumers a quick and easy way to request their reports,
it has come under severe criticism by various consumer
protection groups
There are problems that plague the centralized website
annualcreditreportcom Some of these problems are related to
difficulties inherent with the Internet and search engines
Others, some groups claim, are the result of poor planning and
implementation on the part of the three Credit Reporting
Agencies
Many of the consumer protection groups, including the Privacy
Rights Clearinghouse, urge consumers who are unfamiliar with the
Internet to avoid using the centralized website to order their
free credit reports They further encourage those who choose to
use the website to beware of a number of potential pitfalls the
internet, and the website itself, present
The first problem has to do with the Internet itself The three
Credit Reporting Agencies purchased the website address (also
called a URL (uniform resource locator) or domain name)
annualcreditreportcom It is common for unscrupulous webmasters
to purchase domain names similar to others, with the goal of
intercepting customers or consumers who search for the genuine
website These webmasters purchase domain names very similar to
the real domain, and unsuspecting consumers mistakenly believe
they’ve reached the correct website These consumers are then
redirected to paying sites, have their personal information
collected without their knowledge, or signed up for services
they don’t want or need In this way, unscrupulous webmasters
make money
The FTC calls these websites ‘imposter’ websites
Unfortunately, consumer groups and the FTC have reported that
some Credit Reporting Agencies are linked to some of these
imposter websites Recently, the FTC filed and settled a lawsuit
against a subsidiary of one of the Credit Reporting Agencies
The lawsuit alleged “deceptive and misleading” claims on the
subsidiary’s website This website was advertising free credit
reports, and then automatically signing up consumers to a credit
monitoring system that charged a fee if not cancelled by the
unsuspecting consumer In addition, the website was collecting
personal information about the consumer
The World Privacy Forum reports that over 100 domain names with
close misspellings of annualcreditreport have been purchased
Many of these have been purchased by the Credit Reporting
Agencies themselves In some cases, these websites lead
consumers to websites that demand payment for services, and
others lead consumers to the Credit Reporting Agencies websites
themselves, where they are charged for copies of their credit
reports The second of these is largely the result of the CRA’s
affiliate marketing programs, whereby the CRA pays a website for
a referral
The second problem with the centralized website lies in its
implementation Initially, the website was set up so that only
the 3 CRAs and the FTC were able to provide a live web link to
annualcreditreportcom This prevented other legitimate
websites, such as news and consumer group websites, from
offering a live link on their website In response to these
concerns raised by Privacyrightsorg, this situation has
changed The change is welcome, as consumer groups correctly
pointed out that the initial web link block only served to make
it easier for rogue websites to redirect consumers to
illegitimate websites
There are two ways to find these imposter websites One is to
perform a search in any search engine, which results in a
display of many websites Clicking on anything but the genuine
website can land a consumer on an imposter website The other is
by incorrectly typing the genuine website address into the
address bar of a web browser Many of these unofficial websites
contain small typographical errors, designed to lure in just
such a web surfer
Avoiding Imposter Websites
Many consumer groups, including World Privacy Watch, urge
consumers to avoid potential imposter sites by avoiding the
internet altogether Instead of ordering free credit reports
online, use the toll free number or regular mail
The toll free telephone number is 1-877-322-8228 The mailing
address is Annual Credit Report Request Service, PO Box
105281, Atlanta, GA 30348-5281 If ordering by mail, a form must
be completed and can be found on the FTC’s website
Those consumers wanting to order online are urged to:
1) Ensure that they are using the genuine website The only
website address is annualcreditreportcom
2) If the website you reach features a pop up, advertises itself
on television or radio, or redirects you to a different site,
know it is not the genuine website Your credit card number is
not required information, and you are not required to purchase
or pay for any additional services The genuine website will not
send you any emails
3) Understand that you are required to provide only certain
personal information, including your name, address, social
security number, and date of birth If you have had a change of
address in the past 2 years, your old address may be requested
In addition, you may be asked about a personal financial detail
that only you would know This is to prevent anyone else
accessing your credit report
Access to free annual credit reports is a welcome change to the
laws governing credit reports and protecting consumer’s rights
Every citizen should take advantage of this free service to
ensure that the information being reported about them on their
credit reports is accurate and up to date As with any other
service, consumers need to be aware of the potential danger that
lurks behind the scenes by imposter websites and unscrupulous
webmasters
Credit Repair

Tags | agencies, centralized, equifax, experian, financial, misinformation, prospects, unfortunate