Consumers need
to be alert about impostor sites
Since the program’s inception, web sites have surfaced
that have addresses close to the real thing, or designed to
look like the free program. Consumers should be careful not
to confuse the official free credit report site with any of
the many others advertising “free credit reports.”
Many of those sites use deceptive marketing methods by blurring
the lines between what is free for consumers and what is available
for a cost. While most of these sites will send you one credit
report at no charge, they typically require that you sign
on for some credit protection, credit monitoring or other
service for an annual fee.
AnnualCreditReport.com is the only official site for consumers
to request annual credit reports. It was created by the three
nationwide consumer credit reporting companies, Equifax, Experian
and TransUnion.
Imposter sites
Imposter web sites look like the real one or take advantage
of a similar name. These sites try to either make money off
of a service that is available for no charge or steal personal
information. You may get into imposer sites when you misspelled
the name of the real Web site or searhed through search engines.
One study found that many imposter sites use the words "annual"
and "credit" and "report" and even "free"
in various combinations, or rely on close misspellings of
the official site. Some are "link farms" that send
consumers to for-fee services that are subsidiaries of the
major credit bureaus, others trick users into entering their
Social Security numbers, and a few even forward users straight
to a data broker.
So you've got to be careful. Remember that the only official
site is annualcreditreport.com.
FTC has launched a crackdown.
The FTC is cracking down on so-called "imposter"
sites of the legit Annualcreditreport.com. The FTC recently
sent warning letters to 130 sites that use URLs similar to
AnnualCreditReport.com. The letters caution site owners to
review their sites and "take any actions necessary to
ensure compliance with the law," including putting up
prominent disclaimers.
TheFTC said the agency will also be purchasing sponsored
links on search engines so that when Web surfers type in key
words such as "free credit report," they will encounter
a warning ad about "imposter" sites and a link to
the FTC credit report site.
Another caution
There is also another word of caution to avoid using computers
in libraries or other public places to access a free credit
report. That creates a danger of someone watching or spying,
and stealing personal information.
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