Facts about Credit Reports

What your credit report is - and what it says about you

Your credit report describes your credit history - specifically, your record of borrowing and repaying, and whether you've made any late payments or gone through bankruptcy. Lenders, landlords, employers and certain businesses may use the information in your credit report to decide whether to approve your application for financing on a home, a credit card application or even an employment application. Individuals with a high credit score and clean credit report may, for example, pay a lower interest rate on a mortgage.

The more you know about credit - and your credit history in particular - the better you'll be able to make educated financial decisions, plan your future and save money. This Web Site is designed to give you the information you need to check, understand, manage and protect your credit history.

Now that you see how important your credit report rating is, you can begin to understand why monitoring your credit file is so critical - and why millions of people choose to check their ratings continuously.

IDENTITY GUARD^® - the leader in credit management services - is committed to helping consumers understand and protect their credit ratings. Our EXTRA CAUTION^SM service monitors all three major credit reporting agencies - Equifax^®, Experian^®and TransUnion^SM - to keep you apprised of your credit score and alert you promptly to potentially suspicious changes to your credit file - minimizing the risk of real damages occuring. It's a 3-3-3 credit profile - 3 credit reports, 3 credit scores, 3-bureau monitoring.

Plus, with EXTRA CAUTION^SM, you get daily surveillance of the Internet's "financial black markets", "back alley" chat rooms and news groups. Patented scanning technology helps ensure that your important financial information is not being compromised or "swapped" in sites frequented by identity thieves.

IDENTITY GUARD also offers Credit Analyzer, an interactive, online tool that helps predict how certain actions - for example, applying for a mortgage - might affect your score.

Want even more help? IDENTITY GUARD also has Credit Education Specialists to answer questions regarding your credit report and credit score.