Obtaining A Free Copy Of Your Credit History
With credit becoming more important every year and reports of large scale identity theft surfacing regularly, people are concerned about being able to obtain a free copy of their credit history to check for cases of identity theft. Every year, you should check a copy of your credit history to make certain that your identity has not been compromised due to lax security at a company that keeps its customer’s personal information.
Identity theft is one of the fastest growing criminal acts in the nation. Nearly 10 million people are affected by identity theft annually. It is very important that anyone that has access to a free copy of their credit history because of a security issue at a company they have used take the time to review their credit history regularly while it is available. This way, the person will be aware of the information is being reported to the credit bureaus in their name and can report possible identity theft before major damage to their credit history can occur.
Where To Get A Free Copy Of Your Credit History
If personal information has been compromised by security issues at a business, the business will generally pay for access to a free copy of your credit history for at least one year after the security issues occurred. There are dozens of websites that offer a free copy of your credit history but will steer you towards subscription based services sold by the credit reporting bureaus instead. Typing “free copy of credit history” into a search engine will result in a list of links to websites sponsored by or selling services for the major credit reporting bureaus.
People who obtain a free copy of their credit history through these websites find themselves enrolled in credit monitoring services sold by the credit reporting bureaus. When these services are chosen, the company notifies them whenever something new occurs with their credit that is reported to the credit bureaus. If the person’s identity is stolen because of security issues at a company, the company will pay for the person’s enrollment in one of these credit monitoring services. This allows the person to access a free copy of their credit history to make sure that their information is not being used by the criminals.
You should look closely at any website offering a free copy of your credit history because sometimes these websites are created by criminals that are looking to steal personal information. The person believes that typing their personal information into a form on the website will give them access to a free copy of their credit history, but they are giving the criminals all of the information needed to open credit accounts in the person’s name. It is very important that you use an authorized website to obtain a free copy of your credit history so that your personal information will remain secure.
