The coronavirus outbreak is not only taking a toll on physical and emotional health, but financial as well.
As the country prepares for continued economic fallout as a result of the virus, three major credit agencies announced this week that they would make free credit reports available.
TransUnion, Equifax and Experian will all offer free weekly credit reports through April 2021. Before the announcement this week, Americans could access one free credit report a year.
"That may have made sense in 2003 when that went into effect, but it doesn't really make sense in 2020," credit expert John Ulzheimer told NerdWallet. "This move by the credit bureaus is a great idea because we really should be checking our credit reports once every statement cycle, which is basically once a month."
Keep in mind that these are credit reports, not your credit score. The report includes the data that is used to compile your credit score.
"Reports show the building blocks that go into your scores, which provides more insight than simply seeing a number," NerdWallet notes.
To access the reports, go to AnnualCreditReport.com. You should be prepared to enter your name, Social Security Number and current address, then select which credit bureaus you want to see reports from.
Once your identity is confirmed, you will be able to save a copy or print your report. Forbes notes that once you leave the report, you won't be able to access it again for another week, so saving a copy in your own files is a good idea.
What to look for in your credit report:
Signs of identity theft: Some tip offs include addresses listed that you have never lived at or accounts and lines of credit that you don't recognize.
Any payments that don't add up: If you see payment listed as late or missed that you don't remember, this can be a big factor in determining your credit score, according to Forbes. If it isn't correct, you can dispute it.
"All errors are worth disputing. Some are cosmetic so they won't result in a better score, but I like the idea of having fully accurate credit reports even if it means correcting an address or the spelling of a former name," Ulzheimer told NerdWallet.
If you see an error:
You can report errors on your report with the credit bureaus.
About the Author
