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How to Review Your Credit Reports

To check your credit reports for errors or possible signs of identity theft, look carefully at these three areas.

1. Look in the Personal Information or Personal Data section.
   1. Look for addresses where you’ve never lived.
   2. Make sure your name and any variations of it, your Social Security number and your employers are correct.
       
2. Look in the Accounts sections.
   1. Look for any accounts you didn’t open.
   2. Look for balances on your legitimate accounts that are higher than you expect.
       
3. Look for Inquiries or Requests for Your Credit History that you didn’t make. There are two types of credit inquiries:
   1. “Regular” or “hard” inquiries are the ones that result when you apply for credit or when an account is transferred to a collection agency. This is the kind of inquiry you should check as possible identity theft or error.
   2. The other type, “promotional” or “soft” inquiries, would not be an indication of problems. This type includes pre-approved credit offers, credit checks for employment purposes, account monitoring by your existing creditors and your own requests for your credit report. 

You can view sample credit reports, with the different sections explained, on the Web sites of the three credit bureaus: www.experian.com, www.transunion.com, www.equifax.com.