If you're like me, the most annoying jingles get stuck in my head. For hours.
One of the most egregious offenders is the ubiquitous jingle "free credit report dot com." (If you know the jingle, it's probably stuck in YOUR head now. Apologies.)
FreeCreditReport.com is one of more than an estimated 100 domains that lure unsuspecting customers to Web sites that charge for the same service they advertise as free. Many of these sites are run by the big three credit reporting agencies: Experian, Equifax and TransUnion. (FreeCreditReport.com is an Experian site.)
What the chorus of women crooning those five simple words don't tell you is that ordering a "free" credit report from FreeCreditReport.com "enrolls" you in a free trial of their "Triple AdvantageSM Credit Monitoring"service. If you don't cancel the "free trial membership" within the 30-day trial period, the billing ($14.95 per month) commences. (The FTC agreed to settle charges of deceptive practices against FreeCreditReport.com for $1 million; the FTC went after them a second time, but the second fine was just $300,000.)
Then there's outright deception.
An investigation by the World Privacy Forum identified 96 known misspelled, registered domains designed to exploit typing errors to send people to different sites with fee-based services. Of these sites, 28 were identified as belonging to Experian and other credit services such as MyFico at FairIsaac.
While you can go to http://www.annualcreditreport.com/ to get your free credit reports, confusing menus and solicitations can give unwary consumers more than they bargained for in the way of e-mail spam and the selling of personal information to "affiliates." And some of these online report sites contain a mandatory arbitration agreement which prevents you from taking a case against the credit bureau to court.
Consumer advocates strongly recommend calling their toll-free number instead: 877-322-8228.
Here are some tips on ordering your credit report (courtesy of Bankrate.com):
Free is free: If you have to supply a credit card or checking account number, it means you're going to pay. You may get the initial credit report for free, but you may also be signing up for a continuing service at a price.
No junk mail: Don't respond to e-mail offers for free credit reports -- they're almost always spam.
Be secure: Always be sure you're on a secured Web site when entering your personal information.
Keep it secret: When phoning the toll free number (877-322-8228) for a free credit report, ask that only the last four digits of your Social Security number are displayed on the reports to be mailed to you.
Reduce solicitations: Don't give out your e-mail address to obtain a federally mandated free credit report -- it is not required.
Run from pop-ups: If you do choose to go online to https://www.AnnualCreditReport.com and see pop-up ads, or if the site is not secure, close your browser and start over. Secure sites will have a padlock logo in the corner, and the address will begin with https:// instead of just http://.
Check and uncheck: If you go online to https://www.AnnualCreditReport.com, be sure to look for any pre-checked marketing or newsletter offers. If you decide you do not want these offers, uncheck the box.
