Fraudulent Credit Reports

Posted by: Michael S. | Dec 26,2007


I’d like to add something to Henry’s post about ordering a credit report at the end of the year.  You think you’re doing everything right by ordering a credit report, but wouldn’t you know it, ordering a credit report can lead to identity theft as well.  

The main way that people are victim to credit report scams is similar to other identity theft scams.  The hub for free credit reports is annualcreditreport.com. Identity thieves have set up fraudulent sites with a similar URL, possibly with a minor misspelling.  People enter in sensitive financial information on an illegal, third-party site.  

Other sites might be purely phishing enterprises.  The URL may be very different from annualcreditreport.com, but the purpose is the same: to get the “customer” to enter in a Social Security number, address, credit card number, PIN number, and more.  It is important to realize that there is only one authorized source for a free credit report.  That’s the annualcreditreport site, run by the three major credit bureaus.  

That said, however, this does not mean that every site offering a free credit report is illegal and dangerous.  There are plenty of legitimate credit report services.  One I can vouch for (because I use it) is freecreditreport.com.  However, there is something to keep in mind.  While that site can get you a copy of your credit report, it is also a credit monitoring service.  So when you apply for a free credit report, you will also be enrolled in monthly monitoring.  While this is recommended for all credit card users, this might not be what you bargained for when you were looking for “free,” as monitoring has a monthly charge.  

This is not the same thing as a scam.  Yes, you’ve been enrolled in a different program, but freecreditreport does not use your credit information for fraudulent purposes.  Actually, it’s the opposite: they use your information to block it against potential identity thieves.  Still, if you don’t want to spend any money whatsoever and you’re concerned about fraudulent credit report sites, go directly to the source: annualcreditreport.com or call the credit bureau directly at 877-322-8228.  

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