A credit score is a financial report on a person’s credit worthiness that is based after a statistical analysis from information sourced from credit institutions e.g. banks and credit card companies. It represents a credit report, which is actually a record of the amount of credit you have availed and whether it has been paid at the stipulated time and displays all details of your credit habits and all the various times an individual has applied for credit. More importantly, it will contain all your credit card, mortgage, a history of your loan payments, your bankruptcies etc. When an individual requires a large amount of money on credit, his credit report will give the lender enough information whether he qualifies for a loan, the interest rate and the limits that the credit should go up to. On using this credit report, a lender can find out whether the person applying for credit can be safely lent money. So, if you are planning to make a big purchase and need some cash urgently, checking your credit report is the best way to ensure you get the credit and services that you require. There are many scores based on the numerous scoring models but the most commonly used is called the FICO score.
Free credit score is possible online. All US residents need to do is fill up a form in the website, fill in all the required details asked for e.g. name, place of residence past and present, SSN, date of birth, past and present employers, and answer one particular question, the details of which only you should know; and the free credit score will be generated immediately. Several websites offer free credit scores online instantly and this includes the 3 major credit bureaus – Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. Most experts agree that you should check your free credit report score regularly, at least annually and this is the best way to ensure you get the credit you deserve. Some of these websites provide 3 free credit scores without any charge.
However, obtaining the free credit score online is not straightforward. These websites will make you sign up for the free scores and then bill you a monthly charge in the subsequent months for the service they provide until you remember to cancel their service. Each individual who has availed of their service should remember to cancel their service soon after the trial period is over. With this you would have got the free credit score detail without paying anything else to the websites.
In the current internet world, identity theft is quite common through the acquisition of personal identifiers obtained by seriously breaching privacy. Consumers should not naively provide personal information or login credentials to anyone who asks for it. Identity theft protection should be rigorously followed if funding for other crimes e.g. illegal immigration, terrorism, phishing and espionage needs to be stopped.