Free Credit Reports: They're a Start

Learn about your credit for free before you buy a full report

If you're interested in your credit report and credit score – and we sincerely believe you should be – then you've probably noticed an awful lot of companies offering free credit reports. Free credit reports are mandated by law (federal Fair Credit Reporting Act). Every consumer may request a report once a year from each of the three major credit reporting agencies. These are, in fact, free and they do provide a snapshot of your credit profile at a given point in time.

One critical point to keep in mind: They may not contain a credit score. They show your accounts, balances owed, history and so on. You can check for accuracy. But you don't know how a lender would translate this information into a credit score. And your credit score is the value the lender will use to determine if you qualify for preferred rates – or for a loan at all.

So if a free report is just a start, what can a credit-conscious consumer do?

Where do you go when you're ready to move beyond a free credit report – when you need a credit report presented in an easy-to-understand way, supported by helpful what-if tools? When you want to see your complete credit report and scores?

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.