CyberImpersonate

The intent of this article is to provide information on the services offered by FreeCreditReport.com. We will give an overview that will inform the reader and assist them in deciding whether, or not, the service would be a good choice for them.

Everyone has seen the TV commercials. People know the ad jingles, and it’s hard to believe that there is anyone who hasn’t heard of freecreditreport.com. But this article is being created because there has been a lot of confusion, many negative customer feedbacks, and two frequently asked questions.

Is the credit report really free? Is freecreditreport.com considered a scam?

Freecreditreport.com is a company that is affiliated with Experian. There are only 3 main credit bureaus in the America. Equifax, Trans Union, and Experian (which used to be T.R.W.) This means that freecreditreport.com is actually affiliated with one of the major credit bureaus.

But what freecreditreport.com website actually provides is called a credit monitoring service. Industry experts agree that a credit monitoring service is a very important thing to have if you really want to protect yourself against identity theft. Year after year millions of Americans fall victim to identity theft and it is rapidly growing. If you, or someone you know, have had it happen then you are already aware how it can cause serious problems in your life. Repairing the damage and getting your credit report corrected is a complete time consuming nightmare. This monitoring service will alert you if an inquiry is made, if someone pulls your credit report, if someone attempts to open a new account with your id, etc. You can then catch it immediately, and therefore, you will be able to stop it before it causes your life turmoil.

Freecreditreport.com credit monitoring service is called Triple Advantage. It is $19.99 per month. As long as you are a member of the service you will have unlimited access to view your credit report 24hrs a day. Once you sign up, you have 7 days to cancel to avoid the charge at all. Even if you miss that 7 day period the company says you can cancel anytime and avoid any continuing charges.

So our answer to the two questions: Is your credit report really free? We feel the answer is no. You do not get your credit report unless you sign up and pay for their monitoring service. Is freecreditreport.com a scam? We think the legal answer is no. They say the monthly fee is only for the monitoring service. Access to your credit report is a completely separate benefit and for no additional charge.

What many people say is wrong is that they believe freecreditreport.com and their advertising is very misleading. We have examined all of their TV advertising, and we found that just like the car commercials, the prescription drug commercials, and others, freecreditreport.com puts all the basic disclaimers require by law in very small print during the commercial. Then right before it ends, a very fast talking announcer says “Offer applies to enrollment in Triple Advantage”

We have concluded that the bottom line is they are a company that has a website name which is bound to lead to much confusion. Many will say that is wrong and many will say that is just clever advertising. Either way they are clearly benefiting from all the confusion.

However it has also created lot of complaints and a lot of anger. Because just about everyone who watches the commercial and then visits freecreditreport.com have absolutely no intention on signing up for a monthly credit monitoring service. They’re intent is to just get their credit reports.

It has created so much of an issue that the FTC (federal trade commission) got involved. The government required freecreditreport.com to be more clear & direct about their services. Since then we’ve notice absolutely no change in their TV commercials. However, now the website has a disclaimer at the very top of the page that is difficult to not notice.

You should know that there is a less confusing option if you t just want to pay for your credit report and nothing else. The service is offered by one of the other credit bureaus. It provides the option of a one time charge for your credit report.

We hope this information has been a benefit to you. Our only intention was to try and provide some answers to the questions concerning freecreditreport.com. And to inform consumers that other options are available to them.

Consumers Info USA reviews surveys, and customer feedback, to provide links to the best online services. For more information on credit reports, the importance of knowing what is on your credit report, and a link to order your report for a single, one time price, go now to: http://www.consumersinfousa.com/order_your_credit_report.html

The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) is a reasonably new law that was approved by the government that permits every citizen to get a free credit report annually. This law came about because of the worrying increase in I. D. theft. Your free credit reports are generally available by ordering them online, through a toll-free number, or by mail and you can order your credit reports from all 3 of the credit reporting companies – Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion.

The Only Official Website for Ordering Your credit Report

You should not have to fret about free credit report scams as the 3 credit reporting agencies have set-up an official internet site, annualcreditreport.com, where you can order your free credit report once every year. They also have a toll-free number, 1-877-322-8228, and a address, 1-877-322-8228. You can print out the form from the FTC’s web site at ftc.gov / credit.

Free Credit Report Tricks

With this new law and the simplicity at which you can safely order your credit reports, there should be no free credit report cons. Sadly, the majority do not know about their rights and so they search on the internet for free credit reports. The identity thieves and tricksters have taken advantage of un-informed people by building their own credit report websites to scam you.

These free credit report scam internet sites normally charge you a tiny fee to get your credit reports when in truth they should be free. There are more fake credit report internet sites that may offer you free credit reports but they might ask you for private information like your SSID number or your credit card info.

A few of these trick sites will use this info to steal your identity and leave you with debt and other legal problems. Others, while not really illegal, will trick you into a cost-free trial and then charge your credit card for a once a month charge after the free trial has finished. Please do not fall for these trick sites; use the official contact information above.

What to Look out For so You Do Not Get Tricked

Some of the scam sites will try and trick you by using a similar name to the official free credit report site; put simply they will register a website domain name terribly close to the official annualcreditreport.com site. They do this in the hope that someone will make a typo while typing in the domain. Other trick sites will use the name “free credit monitoring”, “free credit scores”, or “free credit reports” in their domain names – they are potentially cons.

Other cons involve the utilization of e-mail or telephone. The scammers will say that they’re from either the annualcreditreport.com site or from one of the three credit reporting companies. They will ask you for personal info or they can direct you through a link in the email to a fraudulent credit report site. Don’t give out any personal information over the phone unless you were the one that initiated the call, and don’t click any links in email from these type of free credit report offers. Also, be conscious of pop ups, when surfing the web, that offer you free credit reports.

Order Your Free Credit Reports

Do not forget to always order your credit reports by way of the official contact data above. The web is a fabulous source of info but it’s also home to a handful of good for nothing trick artists looking to make a quick buck. One reason to order your credit reports every year is to keep an eye open for any peculiar activity that might mean you’re a victim of identity theft. Another reason is to test your reports for any info that’s incorrect that might affect your credit report – you can and should attempt to increase your credit score.

Now that you know how to order your credit reports safely, your next task might be to Repair Your Credit yourself or read William’s report of an easy and quick way to Raise Your Credit Score by at least 135 points without using credit repair services or companies.

In this day and age where most people have easy access to a consumer credit, Americans are finding themselves sinking deeper and deeper into debt. Racking up a mere $10,000 in debt is now easy and all too common.

As the pressures of mountainous consumer debt become an issue for more and more people, the demand for legitimate and proven ways to rebuild your credit history is on the rise. The word “budget” conjures up extreme images of depriving oneself of the foods one likes or more extreme visions of starving oneself pop up. However, a proven formula for debt management and the rebuilding of personal credit and credit scores using a specific type of credit card dispels such visions.

Not only are these credit cards beneficial, they also provide for some consumers the only way out, especially if they’ve been denied a bank account or traditional credit card. Given that it takes two incomes in most households and a great majority of men and women both are in the workforce these days, there is hardly any time to prepare budgets and investigate ways to increase their credit scores.

Your journey to financial freedom starts with YOU taking the first step. Let us begin first, by evaluating the positives and negatives of both the secured and the pre-paid credit cards.

a.) Secured Credit Cards

Advantages- Having a secured credit card is a very easy and cost effective way to build your credit. These secured credit cards can also rebuild and improve damaged credit reports. They work exactly like a traditional credit card.

Negatives- The biggest setback for most people with the secure credit card, is that you have to deposit about $200-$275 in order to “secure” the account when you sign up. For most, this is a lot to ask. These cards also have a tendency to have additional fees (i.e. annual fees) and much higher interest rates (approximately 15% or greater). Even though these may seem like a lot, this card is probably the best choice for rebuilding credit.

b.) Pre-Paid Credit Cards

Advantages- Pre-Paid Credit Cards are a very useful tool, because they give you all of the flexibility and freedom of using your own money. They look, feel, and spend just like a real credit card; they can be used in any occasion that you would use a regular credit card. With these cards, you determine how much money you would like in the account by “loading” money, instead of the company offering you a credit limit based on your financial history. Almost everyone can be approved for this type of card, and yes….even if you’ve had a bad credit past.

Disadvantages- Think of an alternative option to rebuild or establish credit. This type of account does not report your payment history or account standings to the credit bureaus. If the creditor in which you receive the pre-paid card from does not report your account, then it will NOT improve your credit. Be sure to research and compare which pre-paid cards have the best benefits according to your needs.

Note that pre-paid credit cards may not be allowed in some situations. When you rent a car or book a hotel, some places will not allow use of a pre-paid card to hold car rentals or rooms. Be safe and call ahead of time to ask about the company’s policy on pre-paid cards before you’re halfway through the process.

Identity Theft Prevention and Identity Theft Protection are a necessity these days. Put a stop to Identity Theft with LifeLock. Life Lock can make sure identity theft never happens to you. To learn more about how to protect yourself and your loved ones from identity thieves, visit lifelock.com

Consumer advocate Linda Seamore is dedicated to educating people on how to protect their identity. After much research on identity theft and its victims, she found out about Life Lock , the industry leader in ID theft protection. Life Lock is a proactive identity theft protection agency. Visit www.LifeLock.com and discover how to protect yourself.

When identity theft occurs, the victim faces an endless paper chase contacting lenders and credit agencies. Even more so, these victims often feel violated, stripped of their privacy, left with an uncomfortable sense of nakedness. Their account balances, credit cards, debts and financial information are compromised and in most cases of identity theft, the thieves have run up bills into the thousands of dollars. Making matters worse, most victims dont even know that their personal information has been compromised until well after the fact, which limits their ability to exercise damage control to their credit rating and creditworthiness. The companies that issue credit reports are instrumental in helping victims repair their credit rating, but it still takes a great deal of time and correspondence until a victims credit score recovers from identity theft.

Identity Theft Statistics

Louis Robertson, the head of the RCMP Criminal Analysis Unit at the Canadian Anti-Fraud Center, said, “Identity theft now is probably the most important problem for Canadian consumers.” According to figures from 2007, 1.7 million Canadians were victims of identity theft that year. Thats nearly 6.5 percent of the population with losses amounting to $15,731,000. Canadians spend a combined 20 million hours and over $150 million dollars in out-of-pocket expenses annually attempting to shore up credit ratings destroyed by identity thieves. Other statistics of note include:

More than 50 percent of identity theft cases involve fraudulent credit card transactions

Approximately 23 percent of Canadian identity theft cases occur due to lost or stolen credit cards.

More than 10 percent of credit card scams occur without an identity thief having the credit card. In most cases, Canadians are the victims of phishing, wherein the victim provides his/her credit card information to a thief posing as the representative of a legitimate business.

Credit cards stolen from mailboxes account for 7 percent of Canadian identity theft cases

Tips to Proactively Prevent Identity Theft

The best defense is a good offense and this adage certainly applies to the prevention of identity theft. On average, it takes twelve months for a victim to realize he or she is a victim of identity theft. By then, options for preventing damage to a credit score are limited. As a proactive line of defense against identity theft, many people subscribe to credit monitoring companies. These companies specialize in credit tracking to spot unusual trends in spending and notify subscribers if several large transactions occur in an uncommonly brief period. Credit monitoring companies might also offer full-service credit counseling to help people manage their credit responsibly, recover from identity theft and rebuild credit scores. In addition to subscribing to a credit monitoring service, one can also take the following steps in the prevention of identity theft:

Use strong passwords online”Given the number of passwords people have to remember on a daily basis, its human nature to want to keep things as simple as possible by reusing the same three of four passwords for everything. This practice makes it easier for thieves and keyloggers to access everything from your email accounts to your bank and credit card accounts. Get in the habit of using different passwords for all your accounts and make sure they are a combination of numbers, letters and symbols for stronger passwords.

Keep your anti-virus software updated”Several anti-virus programs offered online are free and in some cases better than well-known software that is available for purchase. Download at least three of these free programs; keep them updated with the latest virus definitions and get in the habit of scanning your computer at least once a week. Be very wary of anti-virus notifications from software that you didnt download. Some viruses masquerade as anti-virus software to get your personal information!

Read the articles on your credit monitoring companys site”Thieves are constantly discovering news ways to rip off honest people. Reading the articles and news on your credit monitoring companys website to learn about the latest scams and trends in identity theft, is a very good way to keep from becoming a victim.

Join your credit tracking services online community”Many credit tracking companies have forums and blogs on their site where people can share information, stories and cautionary tales about identity theft, credit counseling, managing credit responsibly and other useful information. Reading new posts regularly is another precaution in protecting a credit score.

Like other crimes, people think that identity theft is a crime that happens to others and it is a shock to learn that they are suddenly and shockingly a victim of that crime. Identity theft is more than a considerable insult. It is a personal crime that leaves the victim feeling stripped bare, vulnerable and naked. Subscribing to a credit monitoring service may seem like an unnecessary expense, but any victim of identity theft will tell you that an ounce of prevention is worth much more than a pound of cure!

Scott Peckford and Debt Monkey advocate regular credit monitoring to prevent identity theft and to help maintain a healthy credit score.