As of September 1, 2005 consumers residing in the eastern United States now are eligible to request an annual, free credit report. You are allowed to request a free credit report, once every 12 months from each of the nationwide consumer credit reporting companies: Equifax, Experian and TransUnion.

Along with "Free" comes "Beware"

The drive to curb identity theft may have in fact opened the door to a number of phony web sites. The Federal Trade Commission has identified hundreds of fraudulent sites that may be trying to mislead consumers. These sites either charge a fee for a free report or, worse, try to collect personal information that can be used to commit future identity theft.

Many of these sites have been designed to look like the officially sanctioned site and/or have site names that sound very similar.

As reported by the Federal Trade Commission web site (http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/edcams/freereports/index.html) the only authorized, online website where you should go to get your free, annual credit report is: https://www.annualcreditreport.com

The Federal Trade Commission is asking that you report to them any spam you receive that offers you a free annual credit report or if you paid for what you thought was your free annual credit report. More information about reporting fraud or spam can be found on the FTC's website.