A recent amendment to the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act
(FCRA) requires each of the nationwide consumer credit reporting
companies to provide consumers with a free copy of their credit
report, upon request, once every 12 months.
Access to the free credit reports has been phased in beginning
last December in the West and will finally be nationwide by
1 September. This is good news to consumers.
However, a new form of phishing, is manifesting itself even
before access to free credit reports is available for all
Americans.
The new law that requires the three national credit bureaus
to provide a free annual credit report to consumers, has met
with the law of unintended consequences. Although the law
was initially created to help thwart identity theft,
the process for requesting the free credit reports may in
fact contribute to further identity theft or loss of privacy.
While the intent of the law was to make it easier for consumers
to check for errors and possible evidence of identity theft
in their credit reports, according to a new report by the
World Privacy Forum, more than 200 imposter websites have
sprung up trying to exploit one of the methods made available
for consumers to apply for their free credit reports.
One of the methods by which consumers can apply for their
free credit reports is through a website that was established
jointly by the three credit bureaus. The official website for applying for the free credit reports
is at http://www.annualcreditreport.com
But, if the identity thieves and other unscrupulous internet
swindlers have their way, part of the very process sent up
in an attempt to curtail identity theft, will leave consumers
vulnerable to further loss of privacy.
The online pilferers create websites with domain names that
are very close to the official website www.annualcreditreport.com.
By registering similar names or
close misspellings, such as wwwannualcreditreport.com (note
the missing dot), creditannualreport.com and www.freeannualcreditreports.com
they hope to entice consumers to unwittingly enter their private
information into online web forms, thinking that they are
on the official website.
Depending upon the level of personal information detail captured
from the imposter websites, the swindlers can then use the
garnered information for illegal purposes, sell the information
to purveyors of personal information databases, or they can
simply send the unsuspecting consumer to commercial websites.
While the majority of imposter websites, simply gather names,
addresses, and email addresses and then send the consumer
on to advertising sites, some sites attempt to gather social
security numbers, birth dates, and other sensitive information.
To guard against the possibility of entering personal information
on an imposter site, consumers can go to the official website
from a link off from the www.ftc.gov
website or call the official toll free number (877-322-8228)
to get the free copy of their credit report.
Note: Strange as it may seem, your free annual credit
report does not contain your credit score. For more information
on your credit score, what it is, how it is used, and why
it is important, see the resource box below.
George Dodge has been developing on the Web since 1994
and is owner of http://www.The-Credit-Repair-Center.com
a source of information on personal finance management. For
information on how you can also get a free copy of your credit
score (which is NOT included with your annual free credit
report), click here http://www.The-Credit-Repair-Center.com/scores/credit-scores.html
Your Credit Score - Do You Know What It Is?
