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San Diego, CA - A new report issued
today by the World Privacy Forum in advance of the March 1
rollout of free credit reports to Midwest residents, shows
that consumers may be better off calling or mailing for
their federally mandated free credit report instead of
going online for it.
Researchers analyzed two areas: The official Web site,
https://www.AnnualCreditReport.com and close misspellings
of the official web site's address to see if any "phishing"
or scam sites had been put online.
The World Privacy Forum study, "Call Don't Click: Why It's
Smarter to Order a Federally Mandated Credit Report via
Phone Instead of the Internet," documents that 96 known
"imposter" domains exist.
•28 of the imposter domains belong to Experian, a credit
bureau.
•68 of the imposter domains belong to or are hosted at
"pay per click" companies.
•50 of the "pay per click" domains are live, and some are
luring consumers to inappropriate and risky Web sites.
Some of the "pay per click" sites lead consumers to
Experian and other credit companies' commercial sites in
order to cash in on the credit bureaus' affiliate
marketing programs.
Additional issues were found at the official
AnnualCreditReport.com site itself. The primary finding
was that the credit bureaus are blurring the lines between
what is free for consumers and what is available for a
cost.
For example, the TransUnion section of the
AnnualCreditReport.com site automatically selects
consumers to receive marketing information and have their
information shared with affiliates and partners. Experian
and Equifax have potentially confusing menu navigation
bars that do not clearly distinguish between the free
areas of credit report access and the for-pay sections.
"As a long-time pro-technology advocate, it saddens me to
advise consumers to avoid a legitimate Internet site,"
said Pam Dixon, Executive Director of the World Privacy
Forum and a principal investigator for the report.
"The Internet is a medium I have long recommended to
consumers as a vehicle for advice, research, and consumer
information. If the credit bureaus take to heart the
findings of this report, clear the confusing information
from the AnnualCreditReport.com site and clean up the
imposter domains, my recommendation to avoid the site will
change."
CONSUMER TIPS
•When phoning the toll free number (877-322-8228) for a
free credit report, ask that only the last four digits of
your SSN are displayed on the reports to be mailed to you.
•If you call for your credit report or have it mailed to
you, have it mailed to a secure mailbox.
•Know that you are not required to give out your email
address in order to obtain a federally mandated free
credit report.
•If you do choose to go online to https://www.AnnualCreditReport.com
to access your credit report, be absolutely certain that
you have not mistyped the AnnualCreditReport.com address.
If you see pop-up ads or if you notice that the site is
not secure, close your browser and start over. (Secure
sites will have a padlock logo in the corner, and the
address will read "https://" instead of just "http://".)
•If you go online to https://www.AnnualCreditReport.com to
access your TransUnion credit report, be sure to look for
any pre-checked marketing or newsletter offers. If you
decide you do not want these offers, uncheck the box.
For complete findings of the "Call, Don't Click" report
and a consumer tip sheet, see:
http://www.WorldPrivacyForum.org or
WorldPrivacyForum.org/calldontclick.html.
CONTACTS:
Pam Dixon, Executive Director
World Privacy Forum
Phone: 760-436-2489
Mobile: 760-470-2000
info2005@worldprivacyforum.org
WorldPrivacyForum.org
Beth Givens, Director
Privacy Rights Clearinghouse
Phone: 619-298-3396
bgivens@privacyrights.org
PrivacyRights.org
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About the ICFE:
About the
ICFE:
The Institute of Consumer Financial Education (ICFE), founded in 1982 by the
late Loren Dunton (creator of the “certified financial planner” (CFP)
designation) and it is dedicated to helping consumers of all ages to improve
their spending, increase savings and use credit more wisely. The ICFE trains and
certifies Personal Finance Instructors for its own curriculum. It also trains
and certifies Credit Report Reviewers and Identity Theft Prevention Specialists.
The ICFE is an award winning, nonprofit, consumer education organization that
has helped millions of people through its education programs and resources. It
publishes the Do-It-Yourself Credit File correction Guide, now in its 16th
printing and has distributed over one million “Credit/Debit Card Warning Labels”
and “Credit/Debit Card Sleeves” world wide.
The ICFE became an official partner with the Department of Defense/Financial
Readiness Campaign in June of 2004.
The ICFE is also a partner in the national Jump$tart Coalition for Financial
Literacy and the California Jump$tart chapter. The ICFE staff is also active
with San Diego Saves, an offshoot of America Saves, and the California Student
Debt Resource Awareness Project (CASDRAP) (studentdebthelp.org).
The ICFE’s on-line help for consumers who spend too much was featured in PARADE
Magazine in the Intelligence Report section. The money helps and tips are from
“The Money Instruction Book,” a course in personal finance, positioned to become
among the premier programs in the new bankruptcy and debtor education
initiatives.
The ICFE Web site at:
http://www.icfe.info helps consumers with mending spending, learning about
the proper use of credit, budget and expense guidelines, how to set up and
implement a spending-plan and also how to access financial education courses and
videos and how to teach children about money. Other ICFE services include a free
eNewsletter, and an online resource center of financial education learning
tools, including videos, books, software and personal finance courses.
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