Unknown to most Americans is the implementation of a modification to the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) that Congress passed into law in 2004. Those who are seeking a copy of their cost free credit report should be careful. The latest change in law now permits every American citizen the right to obtain one free copy of his or her credit report from each of the three chief reporting agencies (Experian, Trans Union, and Equifax) once each year. There exists an official Website for obtaining the cost free credit reports. Some Web sites purport to offer credit reports for no charge but people who visit those sites may find that the product advertised is not what is delivered.

Obtaining a copy of your free credit report through the official Website is easy, and takes only a few minutes. Crimes are flourishing throughout the Internet as consumers flock to Websites to obtain their cost-free credit report. At the official site, completing the form is a relatively easy process, but there are a lot of organizations, some legitimate and some rather unscrupulous, who would want to acquire the personal information of persons for other purposes. Applicants for free reports need only provide their name, address, Social Security number and date of birth.
 

Web sites with nearly identical names to the official free credit report site provide what is advertised to be available at no charge, but they are actually only interested in stealing your personal information. A number of organizations obtain business by e-mail, offering information for free, but these are mostly examples of phishing, where the senders of the e-mail are only interested in having you reply by providing your sensitive personal information. By illegally obtaining your personal information, unscrupulous organizations can obtain your identity and run up large amounts of debt while posing as you. A change in the Federal bankruptcy law that took effect in October 2005 will hold consumers responsible for their debt, even if it is amassed by someone using a stolen identity. A lot of firms have assembled Websites that look very similar to the official site and may even have similar Web addresses. The result of doing business with the wrong credit report company can be a case of identity theft.

These scams can easily be avoided. It is an unusual occasion when you obtain something for nothing, but you can receive one free copy of your financial record every year from each of the three main bureaus simply by visiting the official Website.

Lawbreaking can result in being investigated by the Federal Trade Commission for fraud. Recently a business promised a no charge report, but demanded a credit card number for purposes of "verification." Customers of one disreputable company were surprised to receive credit card bills for as much as $75 for obtaining their "free" product!