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DIY Credit Watch

Most of your colleagues, friends and family members are just as protected setting up free, do-it-yourself credit monitoring that helps spot identity fraud. Here's how:

Credit monitoring, offered by three major credit bureaus for around $10 per month, gets stamped as legit every time a company that has a privacy breach buys it for victims. But that doesnt mean the services are always worth it. Most of your colleagues, friends and family members are just as protected setting up free, do-it-yourself monitoring that helps spot identity fraud. Here's how.

MARK YOUR CALENDAR. Starting last September, Equifax, Experian and TransUnion are required to give U.S. consumers a free copy of their credit report every year.

To monitor for fraud year-round, request one report every four months. You could ask for the Equifax report on Aug. 1, Experian’s on Dec. 1 and TransUnion’s on April 1.

REQUEST THE REPORT. The Federal Trade Commission warns that scams for “free” credit reports abound, so go to the source: 877 322-8228 or www.annualcreditreport.com. Download and print the PDF of the report request. Fill in all information except your signature and the credit bureau; photocopy the document twice. Then finish filling out each of the three forms. Mail the first and mark the other two with a note reminding you when to mail them.

LOOK IT OVER. Your report should arrive within a couple weeks. You’ll see the dates, history and status of every credit account you’ve had in the past five to 10 years. (You won’t see your credit score; that you’d have to pay for.) If you see any old accounts that you no longer use, call the numbers listed to close those accounts. Knowing what is (and should be) on your report will help you spot potential problems down the road.

RESPOND. If you see mistakes or accounts that you know aren’t yours, fill out the included Research Request form to initiate an investigation with the credit bureau. If you suspect that someone has taken out credit in your name, visit the Federal Trade Commission’s website on credit (www.ftc.gov/credit) for more on dealing with identity theft. You can also contact any of the credit bureaus to place a fraud alert on your account, which helps keep anyone (even you) from obtaining additional credit in your name for at least 90 days. The bureau is supposed to share this information, but you can call the agencies back in a few weeks to confirm that the word got out.