It’s best practice to frequently check your credit reports, which serve as a kind of financial resume outlining all of your money matters. Credit reports can help you keep track of your debts and check for signs of identity theft.
Thanks to the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), you can always request one free credit report a year from each of the three big credit bureaus — Experian, Equifax and TransUnion — online at AnnualCreditReport.com. The three credit bureaus typically charge for each additional report beyond the free annual one, but because of the pandemic, you’re now allowed to pull a credit report for free each week until April 20, 2022.
Here’s everything you need to know about getting your credit reports.
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How to get your credit report
Getting your credit report is fairly easy, and it should be free in almost all cases — especially until April 20, 2022. That makes this an easy personal finance task to check off your list. Here’s how to do it.
How to get a free credit report from AnnualCreditReport.com
AnnualCreditReport.com is the only website authorized by the federal government to provide you with your free annual credit reports from Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. This website is also where you can access a free copy of your credit report each week until April 20, 2022.
Once you’re ready, head to AnnualCreditReport.com on a private, secure internet connection. Do not enter sensitive information while connected to public Wi-Fi, even if you trust the website. And do be sure that you’re on the correct webpage, as there are many look-alike sites that will try to harvest your personal information.
From the home page, click on “Request your free credit reports.” You’ll need to complete three main steps to access them, which shouldn’t take you more than five or 10 minutes if you have all of your personal information memorized or have the necessary documents nearby.
The first step is to fill out an online request form. You will need to provide the following information:
- Your full name
- Your Social Security number
- Your date of birth
- Your phone …….