Credit Report: Risk in Online Credit Reporting

Credit:
Let's see what we understand by the term 'credit'. When we buy something on credit, we get the product or service in advance and pay for it later, either in cash, by credit card or cheque, in whole or in installments. The reason you can buy something on credit is because the vendor is reasonably assured of being paid back. Credit then is the reputation you have built up in the course of your financial transactions of paying your bills on the dot. If you have a history of never reneging on what you owe, you will be less of a potential risk to lenders. Your past record will assure or convince creditors that you are a sound person to be given a loan to and you can be relied upon to pay it back.

Your credit history records are collected and stored in a database by a credit bureau. This is an independent agency that gathers people's credit information from banks, finance companies, credit card companies, shops and so on. Every time you apply for a loan or a credit card, the bank or company you apply to will want to check on your credit history. They can do this by contacting the credit bureau and obtaining information on your credit history in the form of a credit report, which they can get by paying a fee. If you want a copy of your own credit history report, on the other hand, you can get it for free. Just contact the credit bureau. There are three main credit bureaus in the United States - Experian, Equifax and TransUnion. They collect credit information from all national financial and lending institutions. You can ask for a credit report from any one or from all of them.

Your credit report will contain the following information
Your personal identifying information, like your full name, your current address, your year of birth, your social security number, your current and previous occupation, your current and previous place or places of employment, your marital status and the name of your spouse.

Your credit information, like the bank accounts you currently have or previously had, any current loans you have taken and with whom, any previous loans you had taken and with whom.

Any information about you that is on public record with state and county courts, like if you have ever gone bankrupt, if you have ever been involved in a financial litigation, if you have ever been charged for not paying your taxes and so on.

All inquiries made so far regarding your credit history. Such inquires are usually made by credit granters with the view of offering you a loan and if there are too many such inquiries, your situation may appear a bit unrealistic and shaky to other credit granters. If you have taken too many loans, how on earth are you going to reliably repay each and every one of them?

Your credit report may also contain -
A mortgage report, if you currently have a mortgage or have ever taken a mortgage. This will include personal, employment, credit history and public record information.

An employer report, which contains much the same information, except no information on marital status, birth and account information is included.

Risk in Online Credit Reporting:
It is easy and quick to obtain a credit report online, but, at the same time, as with all finance related online transactions, there is an element of risk that must be taken into account. With some commonsense and precaution, you can avoid unpleasant experiences.

1. First of all, make sure you type the credit bureau website address correctly. A misspelling or a typing error could direct you to an entirely different website. There are too many websites with similar names and many offer fraudulent services, so be very careful.

2. You should review your credit report every year, preferably, on a quarterly basis. Regular checking will bring to your notice any fraudulent activities with your account, if there are any.

3. As mentioned before, you can order your credit report free from either one or all three of the credit reporting bureaus - Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. Ignore emails, telemarketing calls, pop-up advertisements and banner advertisements that promise to get your credit report free for you.

4. Keep in mind that you are entitled to get your own credit report for free. You don't have to pay a fee, subscribe to any service or buy any product in order to obtain it.

5. As much as possible, avoid using a public computer to order your credit report.

6. If you are ordering your credit report on your laptop, don't do it in a public place where it is possible for anyone to look over your shoulder and see your confidential personal information.

7. It is all too possible for someone to hack your personal computer, so don't store passwords and other important information on it.