Student Credit Card and Credit Education Blog

Regarding my previous mention of checking your credit score, there is also a way to check it for free. You can only do it once every 12 months, but it won’t cost you anything to do so. If you visit www.annualcreditreport.com, you’ll have the opportunity to request one and see how you fare within the three major credit reporting agencies - Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion.  And you should certainly do this, so that you can make sure everything is legitimate.  It’s one of the easiest ways to see if your identity has been stolen before they illegally sign up for sixteen credit cards in your name.

If you do a Google search for “free credit report”, you’ll almost certainly come across various sites that say they provide you with this service and may even say they’re closely affiliated with one of the aforementioned credit reporting agencies. Don’t bother with these. They may be fraudulent or provide misinformation. Only AnnualCreditReport.com will provide you with a legitimate free credit report. So, take advantage of this, particularly if you’re planning to utilize your credit score for an upcoming purchase and want to make sure there’s nothing fishy going on.