Charging you for FREE Credit Reports

A lot of people are in the business of fraudulently “spoofing” websites or using other devious means to gain consumer’s banking information so that they can steal from them. Identity theft is on the rise and has become a very much publicized manner of fraudulent activity. In partial response, the Federal Government has passed laws that make it easy and affordable for consumers to check their credit report to see if they have any unknown accounts out there or as a means to verify what creditors might be able to see. The service is called https://www.annualcreditreport.com , is free and is the ONLY government site provided for this service.

There have been numerous “legal” scam sites setup to make money off of you that basically connect to this free service and then charge you for the info. Among them in www.freecreditreport.com and www.consumerinfo.com. Here is an article by CNET News describing the rising problem: http://news.com.com/Imposter+sites+plague+free+credit+report+site/2100-1028_3-5789299.html

Just today there is an article about how www.consumerinfo.com was fine $950,000 and ordered to pay restitution for its fraudulent practices: http://www.internetnews.com/ec-news/article.php/3527756

When online be very careful about making monetary transactions only from sites that you trust, and know where you are before responding with personal info. NEVER respond to a solicitation mail!