As of September 1 st 2005 , all U.S. citizens have the right to a free annual report from each of the three major credit bureaus: Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax.

With identity theft rising quickly nationwide, it’s a good idea to take advantage of the new system. Order your credit reports every year, check them, and see if you see any problems, put what’s called a “fraud alert” on them. That tells lenders and creditors that you may have been victim of identity theft and forces them to check with you personally before opening any new accounts.

To best monitor your credit, ask for the reports four months apart. In other words, request one companies report in January, another companies report in May, and the other companies report in September. It’s rather simple to order the reports and spread them through out the year. Visit only webpage to do this, annaulcreditreport.com, fill out the questionnaire, and indicate when you’d like to receive the reports. You can also call (877) 322-8228 or write to Annual Credit Report Request Service, PO Box 105281 , Atlanta , GA 30348-5281 . If someone is co-opting you name, there’s a chance it will show up on all three reports.

Be aware that if you go through the credit bureaus directly instead of the site listed, they’ll pitch you protection plans that have monthly fees attached to them. If you don’t know the web address annualcreditreport.com will have a hard time finding it. If you type “free credit report” in a search engine, you’ll get many other sites that are just trying to sell you something.

The bottom line: Protect yourself. Get the free credit reports, read them, and take action when necessary. But don’t assume the credit bureaus or anyone else will help you along the way. You have to be your own advocate.

Copyright © Agent Image 2005

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