Identity theft is a term that many of us hear of on a regular basis. The reason being, of course, is that now, more than ever, with most of us operating online and much of our personal information being stored electronically, are exceedingly vulnerable to having this information stolen by predators. Once in possession of our financial information, such thieves are able to use our identities to apply for additional credit, purchase goods, and essentially get the products and services they desire at no charge to them. We, on the other hand, are forced to deal with the accumulation of debt from unknown sources, and in many, many cases the significant erosion of our credit. Once credit standing has been compromised it becomes a long and arduous process to repair credit and get back on solid financial footing.

Identity theft can be a disastrous experience for many reasons, not the least of which is the aftermath. By the time that people discover that their information has been stolen, often significant damage has already been done. In tandem with authorities, victims work to catch their assailants and bring them to justice. But that is just the beginning. Next begins the long road to repairing credit and raising our credit score. In an effort to watch their progress, consumers are wise to get a free credit report as often as possible.

Free credit reports are offered through the credit bureaus that collect our financial information – the information that is used to assign us with a credit score used by potential lenders that are deciding whether or not to qualify us for a loan or line of credit. These three credit bureaus – Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion are required to provide consumers with a free credit report once within every twelve month period. But after identity theft it is advisable to get copies of a credit report more often; there are many online services that can help consumers get access to their credit report so they can track their progress of repairing their credit.

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There are, unfortunately, a great many of us in today’s modern society that are walking around with less than perfect credit – bad credit, in fact – without even knowing it; until, of course, we go to apply for a loan and are turned down for reasons that are unclear to us. The truth is that our credit report means everything in the world of finance. Like it or not, often we are nameless and faceless to potential creditors; they look only at our credit report and the credit score that speaks of our creditworthiness. Such information allows the creditor to decide if we are worth the risk and should subsequently be qualified for the loan – be it car, credit card, mortgage, and so forth. Learning at such a time that our credit is bad is far too late; consumers need to be educated and aware every step of the way about their credit standing. And one of the ways in which consumers can accomplish this is through the procurement of free credit reports.

Because our credit report is held by three separate credit bureaus – Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion – it is imperative that we collect free credit reports from all three of these bureaus on a periodic basis. First and foremost, as consumers we are entitled to one free credit report within every twelve month period from each credit bureau. As educated consumers, we need to take advantage of this right by requesting our free credit report within this time period and also periodically throughout the year (for a small fee) if it is warranted to keep updated on the state of our credit report.

By staying in control of our credit report through the procurement of free credit reports we ensure that we have no surprises coming our way.

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