myFICO turns 9, offers exclusive 30% myFICO discount

Posted by kent on March 5th, 2010

Credit report monitoring company myFICO is turning nine years old, and they're giving you a present. Until March 31st you can get 30% off of any of their services including Score Watch, Suze Orman's FICO Kit Platinum, FICO Quarterly Monitoring, and ID Freeze. When our reviewers looked at Score Watch, they found it to be the best way to monitor FICO scores. To take advantage of this 30% discount you must use this link and enter the code myFICOis9. Unfortunately it doesn't come with a 30-day trial if you use the discount code. If you'd like to have a 30-day trial, follow the link from our myFICO review.

How a landlord can run a tenant credit report

Posted by tasha on February 24th, 2010

The following post in our Reader Question series is an actual user submitted question:

Q:  What is the best way to do a credit check on a prospective tenant?

A: Every experienced landlord or property manager knows that it makes good financial sense to run a credit report on prospective tenants.  This simple step can save you time and money in the long run, but it's surprising how many landlords don't get this information prior to renting their property.  With the explosion of internet commerce, it's easier than ever to get this information quickly and securely online.

Experian offers two options to check a tenant's credit and is very reasonable in price.   There are also a number of other companies out there that provide credit checks for prospective tenants.  You can do a simple Google search on a phrase like "tenant credit report" to find them.

Can I get a Free Credit Report without a credit card?

Posted by tasha on February 12th, 2010

The following post in our Reader Question series is an actual user submitted question:

Q:   I don't have a credit or debit card. How can I still get a free credit report?

A: Contrary to popular opinion, you don't need a credit or debit card to get a free credit report.  In fact, your credit report contains more data than just credit card information.  A credit report is a record of all your credit activities, including both credit-card accounts and loans.   If you have ever taken out a car loan or mortgage, this information will be on there.  It also shows if any action has been taken against you because of unpaid bills. This information is obtained mainly from lenders, creditors, insurers, employers and other institutions with which you may have a financial relationship. Any company that issues you any type of loan (such as a mortgage or car loan) or a credit card reports to at least one and often all three credit bureaus each month.

You are entitled to one credit report per year from each of the three credit bureaus, which you can get for free at www.annualcreditreport.com, without a credit card. While getting one report from each bureau once a year is nice, we don't believe it is all that useful. Negative information getting posted to your report or identity theft can happen at any time and you will suffer the consequences unless you are notified and can act immediately. There is no way to get your credit score for free.

If you wish to purchase a credit report or subscribe to a credit monitoring service such as Identity Guard, you will generally need either a credit card or debit card. Using debit cards to make purchases online is riskier, though, since the money is coming directly out of your account. If you plan on making any purchases over the Internet, having a credit card is essential.

The New York Times ponders the plight of the Internet user

Posted by Caitlin on January 25th, 2010

In this day and age, even the Fashion & Style section of The New York Times is worried about Internet security issues. This weekend, the Times recounted the experiences of Allan Goldstein, a 60 year old college professor who uses the Internet, but does so a bit nervously. He worries that NYU's online system will crash, and that he'll lose his syllabus and grades. He uses online banking, but draws the line at automated payments.

A few years ago, Mr. Goldstein was a victim of a rather low-tech variety of identity theft: dumpster diving. Mr. Goldstein believes the thief or thieves found discarded receipts and bank statements in his building's trash before changing the address associated with his credit card. Mr. Goldstein responded to the situation by purchasing a shredder.

In December, Mr. Goldstein opened a new American Express credit card account, but the first time he logged in to check his balance, he found himself in a different account, one belonging to a woman in Florida. He could see her purchase history and all of her personal information. His first move was to call American Express's customer service department and explain that he'd "hacked into someone's private account by mistake."

After a month of being brushed off by six American Express customer representatives who seemed less than concerned about the issue, Mr. Goldstein contacted The New York Times, which finally got American Express's attention. It turned out, there was no hacking or security failure going on. Mr. Goldstein's user name and password were nearly identical to those of another customer, and he had typed his own information incorrectly, which led him to accidentally sign into her account.

Sadly, the incident shook Mr. Goldstein's already tenuous faith in the Internet to such a degree that he responded by moving his savings from an online savings account to a standard account with a lower interest rate.

Clearly, American Express should have responded to Mr. Goldstein's concerns more quickly. But while Mr. Goldstein's trepidation about Internet services is understandable, he would be far safer if he did his research. While shredding sensitive documents is a good move, it is not an adequate defense against identity theft. And if Mr. Goldstein's banking user name and password were nearly identical to those of another customer, it is likely that both were using a popular and weak password.

Instead of avoiding Internet services, learn to use them safely. Protect yourself from identity thieves by investing in an identity theft protection service, or at least a credit monitoring service. Use strong passwords, with a combination of upper and lowercase letters and numbers. Be sure to install Internet security software on your PC, and set it to update automatically. Don't be afraid of online savings accounts, which generally earn higher interest rates than standard accounts. And if you're nervous about losing files, invest in an online backup service.

New FTC rules will require explanations for higher interest rates

Posted by Caitlin on December 28th, 2009

The Federal Reserve and Federal Trade Commission have issued new rules designed to help inform consumers about the impact of their credit histories on the interest rates they are offered when seeking loans. The rules will require lenders to notify consumers who are offered higher interest rates due to their poor credit histories. Consumers who have been offered terms that are "materially less favorable" than those offered to other applicants will be notified after the terms have been set, but before they are required to commit to the agreement. Impacted consumers will also be entitled to a free credit report. Lenders will also have the option to offer borrowers a free credit score instead of providing the notification. The new rules will go into effect on January 1, 2011.

Many consumers are unaware of the importance of their credit histories, so this policy should be helpful in educating those whose credit scores are hurting them financially. But it's better to know where you stand before applying for a loan in the first place. To learn more, check out our reviews and comparison of credit report monitoring services.

Data breaches are like mice, or cockroaches

Posted by Caitlin on November 30th, 2009

Why are data breaches like mice or cockroaches? Because for every one that you see, there are hundreds or even thousands that you don't see.

According to the FBI's top Internet crimes investigator, the public only knows about a handful of the thousands of data breaches investigated by the FBI. Because companies that suffer from data breaches fear bad publicity, they often fail to report the crime to the FBI, or wait so long that it becomes nearly impossible to track down evidence. When data theft goes unreported, the hackers are free to continue targeting more companies. And since large companies have finally begun to strengthen their data security, hackers have responded by targeting smaller companies that have fewer resources to prevent cybercrime. Since these breaches are smaller, they are less likely to be reported by the press.

If your data is compromised in a large and public data breach, you may be offered a year or two of free credit monitoring or identity theft protection. But if your Social Security data or bank account information is stolen from a small company, you may never even know. In fact, the small company itself may not become aware of the breach for months or years. To proactively safeguard your own identity, consider investing in credit report monitoring or identity theft protection before your data falls into the wrong hands.

Popular retailers decline personal checks

Posted by Caitlin on November 25th, 2009

The Dallas Morning News points out that many popular retailers, including Diesel, True Religion, Ed Hardy, and Lululemon Athletica are no longer accepting personal checks. Gap and Whole Foods are toying with the idea, as well. Since few customers use personal checks these days, some retailers no longer consider the convenience worth the risk of check fraud. Only 4% of consumers plan to pay for their holiday purchases with checks, while more than 42% will use debit cards and 28.3% will use credit cards.

Avoiding check fraud is great, but unfortunately, debit and credit cards are also quite susceptible to fraud. Credit cards offer consumers some protection, but debit cards are less secure. If you plan on doing your shopping with a debit card or credit card this holiday season, check your statements often for unauthorized transactions. And consider investing in a credit report monitoring or identity theft protection service, to ensure that fraudulent accounts are not being opened in your name.

Data Breach Alert: Social Security numbers printed on postcards

Posted by Caitlin on November 23rd, 2009

Last week, the Universal American Action Network, a subsidiary of Universal American Insurance, sent 80,000 postcards to Medicare participants throughout the country. On these postcards, printed above the recipients' names, were their Social Security numbers.

The mistake occurred because Social Security numbers are often used as Medicare account numbers. The Universal American Action Network responded by firing the vendor responsible for the mailing, and offering one year of free credit monitoring to the Medicare members whose Social Security numbers have been compromised.

As important as it is to safeguard your sensitive personal data, particularly your Social Security number, there's just no way of guaranteeing that large organizations treat this data responsibly. Once your data has been compromised by a single careless mistake, your identity is at risk. Credit report monitoring is one way to mitigate this risk. For more comprehensive prevention and detection, you might consider investing in an identity theft protection service.

Why do I have different credit scores from TrueCredit and Experian?

Posted by Caitlin on October 14th, 2009

The following post in our Reader Question series is an actual user submitted question. To maintain the integrity of the original question, we do not edit or change reader questions in any way.

Q: I have a 3 score report from True Credit and one from Experian. They have totally different scores. Why would this be? I am trying to get Identity Guard but have not had success with that.

A: Your credit score is calculated based on the information in your credit report, and you have three different credit reports, one from each of the three major credit bureaus. Since some businesses choose to report to only one or two of the three bureaus, it is likely that each of your three credit reports contains slightly different data, which would result in different scores. The credit bureaus use different formulas to calculate their scores, which is another reason for variation. Your credit score also changes as new data is added to your credit report, so if you request credit reports and scores from different bureaus at different times, that would account for further variation.

The varying scores provided by the credit bureaus can help you gain an understanding of your credit health. But the vast majority of lenders rely on the FICO scoring system, created by the Fair Isaac Corporation. You have three FICO scores, one based on each of your three different credit reports.

You can purchase your TransUnion and Equifax FICO scores directly from MyFICO. MyFICO also offers a service that monitors your Equifax credit report and Equifax FICO score and alerts you to any changes. Equifax offers a similar service that provides your Equifax FICO score, but monitors all three credit reports. Identity Guard monitors all three credit reports and provides all three credit scores as calculated by the CreditXpert scoring system, which is similar but not identical to the FICO scoring system. It is not possible for consumers to access Experian FICO scores at this time.

If you are particularly interested in your FICO score, the best option would be to obtain all three credit reports and your FICO score from Equifax. Assuming that the data is consistent across all three reports, it would be fairly safe to assume that your Experian and TransUnion FICO scores will also be quite consistent with your Equifax FICO score.

However, it is important to bear in mind that the information on your credit report matters more than any individual credit score. You can't necessarily anticipate how a particular lender will choose to calculate your score, but you can ensure that the data on all three of your credit reports is positive and accurate.

To learn more about credit reports and scores, see our reviews and comparison chart.

163,000 Social Security numbers compromised in UNC data breach

Posted by Caitlin on September 28th, 2009

In July, a University of North Carolina researcher was unable to access a server containing information pertaining to a federally funded mammography study. That information included records on a total of 236,000 women, and Social Security numbers for about 163,000 of those women. Further investigation revealed that the system had been hacked as long ago as 2007. This past Friday, UNC began to notify the 163,000 women whose Social Security numbers were exposed. The delay occurred due to the need to investigate the extent of the compromise and determine which participants were affected.

Imagine being told that hackers have had access to your Social Security number for the past two years. Two years is more than enough time for an identity thief to open new credit accounts in your name, max them out with charges, and move on to the next victim. Meanwhile, unless you check your credit report regularly or subscribe to an identity theft protection service, you might be blissfully unaware of the debt that "you" have accumulated. At least, until you are denied a loan for a new house or car, or collection agents begin banging on your door. It's important that data breach victims be notified in a timely manner, but sometimes, as in this case, the breach isn't discovered until years later. The only way to immediately informed about any new, potentially fraudulent lines of credit in your name is to invest in credit monitoring or identity theft protection. A credit report monitoring service will alert you to any chances in your credit file, which will allow you to take action in response to any suspicious activity. An identity theft protection service will go beyond this basic level of protection to help prevent, detect and, if necessary, resolve cases of identity theft.

To learn more, see our reviews and comparison charts for credit report monitoring and identity theft protection services.