Free Credit Reports Online Help Prevent Identity Theft

It’s true, free credit reports online help prevent identity theft.  You may or may not know it, but the United States government mandated that the three major credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion) provide you with a complimentary credit report annually.  I think that this is a great initiative to prevent id theft.  Since, there is no deal, no catch, no nothing… just a free credit report to help you find out what your dog bought himself for Christmas with your credit card… it can’t be anything more than great!

The free credit reports are available at www.annualcreditreport.com. Preventing identity theft is as easy as a 15 minute sit-down-session with you and your financial rap sheet.  Make sure to look over any open, closed, and/or derogatory (negative) accounts you may have.  As of this writing the credit card companies offer online dispute options just in case there are some forbidden mistakes in your report.

Remember preventing identity theft is not like going to the dentist.  However, cleaning it up is like going down the financial plank at gun point.  If this is your first time looking at your free credit report you will most likely find it addictive to check it every 4 months or so.  Why every four months?  In my opinion it is better to use up your free credit reports 1 every 4 months.  That way you can better monitor your credit more often rather than just once a year by using up all 3 of them.  There is really no specific report you have to start with, but try not to procrastinate in viewing it.