How to Find Your Credit Score
Finding your credit score on the internet is seemingly easy, yet fraught with danger.
Hundreds of individual websites all offer to check your credit quickly and usually without charge, yet the very process requires that you provide extremely personal information to the sites.
Sensitive personal information usually required includes your social security number, address, name and sometimes telephone number.
While these unofficial sites might provide your credit score in the end, they might also sell your information and should generally not be trusted.
Some of these sites have also been linked with identity theft.
In general, you should never provide your social security number in it's complete form online, due to the potential security risks.
While there are dangers to finding your credit score on the internet, it also provides the convenience of never having to leave your home or even getting dressed! One important factor to remember is that while most credit score sites these days offer free credit checks, some will attempt to charge you.
You should never pay for a credit check, unless you are having them consistently run.
By law you are allowed a credit check from all four major credit providers yearly.
Also if you are by law turned down for credit you are allowed to see the denial report.
The most secure way, although not the most convenient is to go to each individual agency in order to check your credit: Experian, Equifax, TransUnion, and Innovis.
All of the sites of the above agencies can be found through a simple search.
The above agencies will provide your credit score individually, yet should you want a faster method to check your credit score you can always use one of the meta credit checkers, which combine the results of three or sometimes all four agencies.
Such a site is www.
experian.
com.
Sites like experian will also offer toll free lines that you can use to check your credit score if you are suspicious of providing information online.
Beware, however, that all of the above agencies and sites will be attempting to sell you packages and services designed to either build, salvage or protect your credit.
While some of these services might be valuable, in general responsible spending and use of credit is the best way to build or protect your credit score.
Hundreds of individual websites all offer to check your credit quickly and usually without charge, yet the very process requires that you provide extremely personal information to the sites.
Sensitive personal information usually required includes your social security number, address, name and sometimes telephone number.
While these unofficial sites might provide your credit score in the end, they might also sell your information and should generally not be trusted.
Some of these sites have also been linked with identity theft.
In general, you should never provide your social security number in it's complete form online, due to the potential security risks.
While there are dangers to finding your credit score on the internet, it also provides the convenience of never having to leave your home or even getting dressed! One important factor to remember is that while most credit score sites these days offer free credit checks, some will attempt to charge you.
You should never pay for a credit check, unless you are having them consistently run.
By law you are allowed a credit check from all four major credit providers yearly.
Also if you are by law turned down for credit you are allowed to see the denial report.
The most secure way, although not the most convenient is to go to each individual agency in order to check your credit: Experian, Equifax, TransUnion, and Innovis.
All of the sites of the above agencies can be found through a simple search.
The above agencies will provide your credit score individually, yet should you want a faster method to check your credit score you can always use one of the meta credit checkers, which combine the results of three or sometimes all four agencies.
Such a site is www.
experian.
com.
Sites like experian will also offer toll free lines that you can use to check your credit score if you are suspicious of providing information online.
Beware, however, that all of the above agencies and sites will be attempting to sell you packages and services designed to either build, salvage or protect your credit.
While some of these services might be valuable, in general responsible spending and use of credit is the best way to build or protect your credit score.