In the past, if you wanted to check
on the health of your credit report, you would have
to pay a fee to each of the three credit reporting
agencies in order to just look at it. But now, with
the newly revised Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions
Act of 2003 (FACTA), that’s all changed. As
of September 1, 2005, every citizen in the nation
will be able to receive a free copy of their credit
report from each of the three major credit reporting
agencies.
The act was revised to combat the growing problem
of identity theft in our nation, where a thief will
“steal” a person’s identity by obtaining
pertinent personal data and then using it to run up
balances on existing credit cards, as well as open
new accounts. It sometimes takes months for someone
to realize that their identity has been stolen, and
recent studies show that it can take years and a substantial
sum of money to reverse the damage caused.
And the bill does even more to ensure that people’s
identities remain intact. For starters, it places
more safety precautions into effect that will guarantee
that is a consumer has placed a fraud alert on their
account, certain steps will be taken to insure that
any new credit applications have indeed originated
from them. In addition, as of September 1st, merchants
will be prohibited from printing more than the last
five digits of a credit card number on a receipt—lest
it fall into the hands of a thief.
Another tool now available to concerned citizens
is the Federal Trade Commission’s new booklet
that educates consumers about the growing problem.
Called, Take Charge: Fighting Back Against Identity
Theft, the booklet covers such issues as how this
crime occurs, and the immediate stops that someone
should take if they find that someone is using their
good name to run up fraudulent charges. If you’d
like a copy, you can visit their web site at http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/credit/idtheft.htm
and download a free copy.
If you would like to take advantage of the new credit
report law and get copies of your report, you can
do so in a number of ways. You can request it over
the Internet at http://www.annualcreditreport.com.
In addition, you can call 1-877-322-8228 or mail your
request in writing to Annual Credit Report Service,
P.O. Box 105281, Atlanta, GA 30348-5281.
