Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, or FCRA, you are entitled to one free credit report each year from each of the major credit reporting agencies: Experian, Equifax and TransUnion. A copy of your free report can be obtained by visiting a central website the reporting agencies have set up especially for this purpose, www.annualcreditreport.com . You can also call the toll-free number associated with this website to order your free reports, 1-877-322-8228.

If you prefer to mail a request for your free annual credit report, you can print a request form out at the website and send it to Annual Credit Report Request Service, P.O. Box 105281, Atlanta, GA 30348-5281. You can request all three at once or choose only one agency.

Requests for reports that are made online are usually filled immediately. In other words, if you request your free annual credit report at the website www.annualcreditreport.com you will in most cases see your report right away. You will be asked for your name, social security number, and address. If you request the report by phone or mail, the turnaround time is approximately 15 days.

You can also pay for additional reports by visiting the website of the credit reporting agencies themselves or calling them:

• Equifax can be reached at 1-800-685-1111 or by visiting www.equifax.com
• Experian can be reached at 1-877-397-3742 or by visiting www.experian.com
• TransUnion can be reached at 1-800-916-8800 or by visiting www.transunion.com

Unfortunately, lots of copycat websites promise free credit reports and lead the visitor to think that the reports are free, which in actual fact the consumer who visits the site and fill out the request is signing up for a paid service.

If you think you have been a victim of fraud by getting charged for a report you thought was free at one of these websites, you can file a report against them at the Federal Trade Commission website www.ftc.gov . You can also file an affidavit of fraud at your bank or credit union, and they will help you recover the money and get it back into your account.

Checking your credit report once a year is a good idea. Banks, insurance companies, mortgage lenders, and other businesses that extend credit and make loans rely heavily on your credit report to help them decide whether to loan you money and how much to charge you for it.

Mistakes can be made on the reports, and you can start a process of correcting any errors you see by writing the reporting agency within 30 days of finding incorrect information on the free report. Many victims of identity theft do not realize their identities have been stolen until they see a loan or debt they do not have as a negative item on their credit report.

Another good reason for knowing what is on your credit report is that if you know what is negative and on the report, you can take steps to prevent negative items in the future.

Especially damaging are late or skipped payments on credit cards or unsecured lines of credit, defaults, bankruptcies, and having much more debt than you have income. Negative items stay on your report for ten years, so eventually they do fall off and your credit will begin to improve. Knowing your credit score will protect you from fraud, help you to understand how lending and underwriting works, and allow you to begin to take control of your financial life.