Your Credit Score: The Most Important Number in Your Credit History

Lenders know your credit score. Do you?

How does a lender decide if you're a good credit risk? In large measure, lenders – such as banks, mortgage companies and credit card companies – rely on your credit score. Each of the three major credit bureaus has its own proprietary way of calculating your credit score. Your credit score is based primarily on the historical information in your credit report.

Your credit score is a number that fluctuates, meaning it will vary depending on what kind of credit you are applying for, what kind of information you supply as part of your application and the credit scoring model used by the credit bureau. Making a payment or opening a new account can change the equation too. The bottom line is, your 3 credit scores are the numbers that lenders care about – and they're numbers you won't find in your free credit reports.

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.