Free Credit Report
Information
Note: Please do not access these reports
during work hours using business resources as this process
can take considerable time. And as noted below, the report
has very confidential information. It is a good idea to
only access your report in a private place.
Effective March 1, residents of Kansas, and selected other
states, can obtain a credit report once a year from each
of the three credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian and TransUnion).
This can be done either online at https://www.annualcreditreport.com/cra/index.jsp
or by calling 877-322-8228.
See http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/credit/freereports.htm
for more information by the Federal Trade Commission on
free credit reports.
When you get to the web page, check to see it is secure
(i.e., information is encrypted). That is shown by the “s”
in the first five letters of the web site: “https”
which stands for hypertext transport protocol, secure.
Select Kansas in the drop down menu in the “Start
Here” box and select “Go”
Select one, two, or three of the bureaus. You can get a
report from each bureau once a year. Bureaus do not have
to be checked at the same time. For instance, if you select
all three bureaus you have to wait a year to get another
round of free reports.
If you select only one bureau, you can wait a few months
(i.e. 3 months), select another bureau to get that bureau
credit report on you, and wait a few months to select the
final bureau and get a third report. That way you can get
free up-to-date credit reports (from a different bureau)
every three months from now on. However, you may want to
compare all three companies at the same time. It is your
choice.
Fill out the requested information, including social security
number, etc.
Do not select any of the optional offers that cost additional
money (such as your credit rating) unless you need it and
wish to pay for it. Remember the report itself is free and
detailed (sometimes more than 20 pages).
Write down your CONFIRMATION NUMBER. It will only be shown
to you once.
You can call up your credit report for 30 days using your
confirmation number without any payments. The report will
not update - that is you get the same data.
Review your credit report to ensure it has no incorrect
entries or entries indicating you are a victim of identity
fraud. You can view all parts of the report online or select
the “Print Report” button to print the entire
report in detail.
The report has very confidential information. Only access
your report in a private place such as your home.
If you suspect you are a victim of identity theft, read
the last few pages of your report and visit http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/credit/freereports.htm
DO NOT PROVIDE ANY INFORMATION TO ANYONE OR ANY
ORGANIZATION THAT REQUESTS THE INFORMATION IN AN EMAIL OR
BY A “POP UP” ADVERTISEMENT. THAT IS USUALLY
HOW IDENTITY THEFT TAKES PLACE. VISIT WEB SITES LIKE YOU
USE THE TELEPHONE. KNOW WHICH SITE YOU ARE VISITING AND
DO NOT EASILY TRUST INCOMING EMAIL- EVEN IF IT LOOKS LIKE
IT WAS SENT BY A KNOWN COMPANY OR USES A “FROM”
ADDRESS OF A PERSON YOU KNOW.
SEE http://www.fdic.gov/consumers/consumer/news/cnwin0304/phishing.html
for more information.
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