AnnualCreditReport.com

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AnnualCreditReport.com is a website jointly operated by the three major U.S. credit reporting agencies, Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. The site was created in order to comply with their obligations under the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACTA) [1] to provide a mechanism for American consumers to receive up to three free credit reports per year.

Contents

Background

One of the provisions of FACTA, passed in 2003 as an amendment to the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), was a requirement that each of the three credit reporting agencies provide, upon request, a free credit report every twelve months to every consumer. The goal was to allow consumers a way to ensure their credit information is correct and to guard against identity theft. [2]

Accordingly, the three major credit reporting agencies, Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion created the joint venture company Central Source LLC to oversee their compliance with FACTA. [3] Central Source then set up a toll free telephone number, a mailing address and a central website, AnnualCreditReport.com, to process consumer requests. Access to the free report was initially rolled out in stages, based on the consumer's state of residence. By the end of 2005, all U.S. consumers could use these services to obtain a credit report.

Companies participating

Currently these companies are required to participate in the website:

Companies not participating

Use of website

AnnualCreditReport.com requires users to register with the site and provide their basic identification information, such as name, address, and Social Security number. The user is then sent to the website of the individual credit reporting agency they select, where they are asked additional security questions to confirm their identity before getting their report. [2] A consumer can request reports from all three agencies at the same time or stagger the requests throughout the twelve-month period as a way to self-monitor their credit data. [2] In order to obtain a free credit report, users are not required to give a credit card number but establishing an account is required by some of the agencies. Any inaccuracies or signs of identity theft may be dealt with using the mechanisms provided under the FCRA and FACTA.

Over a two-year period from December 2004 to December 2006, 52 million credit reports were issued to consumers through AnnualCreditReport.com. According to the Consumer Data Industry Association, fewer than 2 percent of the reports reviewed by a consumer resulted in a dispute in which data was deleted from the report. [4]

Credit scores are not included in free credit reports obtained from AnnualCreditReport.com. For a fee, each of the credit bureaus offer credit scores as an add-on feature of the report.

In March 2021, it was announced that the website would offer free credit reports to all Americans weekly through April 20, 2022. [5]

Concerns

Credit inquiries effect on credit scores

Using this service does not lower the consumer's credit score, as it counts as a "soft" credit pull. "Hard" credit pulls made by lenders directly, however, do affect the borrower's credit score.

Third-party fraud attempts

AnnualCreditReport.com is the only federally mandated and authorized source for obtaining a free credit report. The Federal Trade Commission cautions consumers to be aware of "impostor" websites that have similar names or are deliberate misspellings of the real name. [2] Such impostor websites include websites with titles like FreeCreditScore.com. [6]

In order to investigate this concern, the consumer group World Privacy Forum has made two studies regarding AnnualCreditReport.com. Their July 2005 study found that there were 233 domains with names very similar to AnnualCreditReport.com, of which 112 routed users to a variety of unintended destinations, including for-fee services, "link farms" and pornographic sites. The report concluded that the credit reporting agencies and the Federal Trade Commission needed to do more to rein in and shut down impostor sites. A follow-up study from RentPrep found that of the original 112 routed links, only six currently remain. [7]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Identity theft</span> Deliberate use of someone elses identity, usually as a method to gain a financial advantage

Identity theft, identity piracy or identity infringement occurs when someone uses another's personal identifying information, like their name, identifying number, or credit card number, without their permission, to commit fraud or other crimes. The term identity theft was coined in 1964. Since that time, the definition of identity theft has been legally defined throughout both the U.K. and the U.S. as the theft of personally identifiable information. Identity theft deliberately uses someone else's identity as a method to gain financial advantages or obtain credit and other benefits. The person whose identity has been stolen may suffer adverse consequences, especially if they are falsely held responsible for the perpetrator's actions. Personally identifiable information generally includes a person's name, date of birth, social security number, driver's license number, bank account or credit card numbers, PINs, electronic signatures, fingerprints, passwords, or any other information that can be used to access a person's financial resources.

A credit score is a number that provides a comparative estimate of an individual's creditworthiness based on an analysis of their credit report. It is an inexpensive and main alternative to other forms of consumer loan underwriting.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Experian</span> Irish multinational consumer credit reporting company

Experian is a multinational data analytics and consumer credit reporting company headquartered in Dublin, Ireland. Experian collects and aggregates information on over 1 billion people and businesses including 235 million individual U.S. consumers and more than 25 million U.S. businesses. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. Experian is a partner in USPS address validation. It is one of the "Big Three" credit-reporting agencies, alongside TransUnion and Equifax.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fair Credit Reporting Act</span> U.S. federal legislation

The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), 15 U.S.C. § 1681 et seq., is federal legislation enacted to promote the accuracy, fairness, and privacy of consumer information contained in the files of consumer reporting agencies. It was intended to shield consumers from the willful and/or negligent inclusion of erroneous data in their credit reports. To that end, the FCRA regulates the collection, dissemination, and use of consumer information, including consumer credit information. Together with the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), the FCRA forms the foundation of consumer rights law in the United States. It was originally passed in 1970, and is enforced by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and private litigants.

TransUnion is an American consumer credit reporting agency. TransUnion collects and aggregates information on over one billion individual consumers in over thirty countries including "200 million files profiling nearly every credit-active consumer in the United States". Its customers include over 65,000 businesses. Based in Chicago, Illinois, TransUnion's 2014 revenue was US$1.3 billion. It is the smallest of the three largest credit agencies, along with Experian and Equifax.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Equifax</span> American consumer credit reporting agency

Equifax Inc. is an American multinational consumer credit reporting agency headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia and is one of the three largest consumer credit reporting agencies, along with Experian and TransUnion. Equifax collects and aggregates information on over 800 million individual consumers and more than 88 million businesses worldwide. In addition to credit and demographic data and services to business, Equifax sells credit monitoring and fraud prevention services directly to consumers.

A credit history is a record of a borrower's responsible repayment of debts. A credit report is a record of the borrower's credit history from a number of sources, including banks, credit card companies, collection agencies, and governments. A borrower's credit score is the result of a mathematical algorithm applied to a credit report and other sources of information to predict future delinquency.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act</span> U.S. federal law

The Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003 is a U.S. federal law, passed by the United States Congress on November 22, 2003, and signed by President George W. Bush on December 4, 2003, as an amendment to the Fair Credit Reporting Act. The act allows consumers to request and obtain a free credit report once every 12 months from each of the three nationwide consumer credit reporting companies. In cooperation with the Federal Trade Commission, the three major credit reporting agencies set up the web site AnnualCreditReport.com to provide free access to annual credit reports.

A credit bureau is a data collection agency that gathers account information from various creditors and provides that information to a consumer reporting agency in the United States, a credit reference agency in the United Kingdom, a credit reporting body in Australia, a credit information company (CIC) in India, Special Accessing Entity in the Philippines, and also to private lenders. It is not the same as a credit rating agency.

Information privacy, data privacy or data protection laws provide a legal framework on how to obtain, use and store data of natural persons. The various laws around the world describe the rights of natural persons to control who is using its data. This includes usually the right to get details on which data is stored, for what purpose and to request the deletion in case the purpose is not given anymore.

A credit score is a numerical expression based on a level analysis of a person's credit files, to represent the creditworthiness of an individual. A credit score is primarily based on a credit report, information typically sourced from credit bureaus.

A credit freeze allows an individual to control how a consumer reporting agency is able to sell personal financial identity data. The credit freeze locks the data at the consumer reporting agency until the individual gives permission for the release of the data.

Credit report monitoring or company tracking is the monitoring of one's credit history in order to detect any suspicious activity or changes. Companies offer such service on a subscription basis, typically granting regular access to one's credit history, alerts of critical changes to one's credit history, and additional services. Credit monitoring can help detect credit related fraud and identity theft.

An identity score is a system for detecting identity theft. Identity scores are increasingly being adopted as a means to prevent fraud in business and as a tool to verify and correct public records.

OptOutPrescreen.com is a joint venture among Equifax, Experian, Innovis, and TransUnion, allowing customers to opt out of receiving credit card solicitations by mail.

The Red Flags Rule was created by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), along with other government agencies such as the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA), to help prevent identity theft. The rule was passed in January 2008, and was to be in place by November 1, 2008, but due to push-backs by opposition, the FTC delayed enforcement until December 31, 2010.

Noddle was a credit report service offered by the British arm of American company TransUnion. The business was launched in 2011 and was sold to Credit Karma in 2019.

"'Tenant screening'" is used primarily by residential landlords and property managers to evaluate prospective tenants. The purpose is to assess the likelihood the tenant will fulfill the terms of the lease or rental agreement and will also take great care of the rental property in question. The process culminates in a decision as to whether to approve the applicant, approve the applicant conditionally, or deny tenancy.

The Equifax data breach occurred between May and July 2017 at the American credit bureau Equifax. Private records of 147.9 million Americans along with 15.2 million British citizens and about 19,000 Canadian citizens were compromised in the breach, making it one of the largest cybercrimes related to identity theft. In a settlement with the United States Federal Trade Commission, Equifax offered affected users settlement funds and free credit monitoring.

Financial privacy laws regulate the manner in which financial institutions handle the nonpublic financial information of consumers. In the United States, financial privacy is regulated through laws enacted at the federal and state level. Federal regulations are primarily represented by the Bank Secrecy Act, Right to Financial Privacy Act, the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, and the Fair Credit Reporting Act. Provisions within other laws like the Credit and Debit Card Receipt Clarification Act of 2007 as well as the Electronic Funds Transfer Act also contribute to financial privacy in the United States. State regulations vary from state to state. While each state approaches financial privacy differently, they mostly draw from federal laws and provide more stringent outlines and definitions. Government agencies like the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Federal Trade Commission provide enforcement for financial privacy regulations.

References

  1. ↑ "Can you join a class action suit if you use Equifax's free identity theft protection?". 8 September 2017.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Your Access to Free Credit Reports". Federal Trade Commission. September 2005. Archived from the original on 21 December 2007. Retrieved 2007-12-21.
  3. ↑ "Credit Reports and Credit Scores". Esperanza USA. Archived from the original on 2007-09-30. Retrieved 2007-12-21.
  4. ↑ "Credit Reports: Consumers' Ability to Dispute and Change Inaccurate Information" (PDF). Consumer Data Industry Association. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2009-05-28.
  5. ↑ Gravier, Elizabeth (2021-03-03). "Credit reporting agencies extended free weekly credit reports for another year—here's where to get yours". CNBC. Retrieved 2021-05-04.
  6. ↑ Pilon, Mary (17 December 2008). "Monitoring Your Credit Score and Credit Report - Personal Finance - WSJ.com". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2016-05-22.
  7. ↑ "Free Credit Report Phishing Scams on the Decline". 5 April 2018.
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