By Aaron Vehling

All over the news there are reports of identity theft.

People may endure months and years, unaware of what sort of activity unfurls in their credit histories, leaving crooks to run amok.
Sure, it has been possible for some time to get a credit report from the Internet. But it was costly, which prevented some from checking out their reports at all.

It used to be if you wanted to get a complete credit report from each of the three credit reporting agencies you had to shell out about $8 or $10 per bureau. Free credit reports were available, but usually it was for only one of the companies, either TransUnion, Experian or Equifax, as part of a trial promo. If you were a victim of identity theft or fraud, usually getting a report free was a little easier.

Congress changed all of that when it passed the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACT) in Dec. 2003, which amended the earlier Fair Credit Reporting Act. The law ensured Americans were eligible for a free annual credit report from each of the three agencies.

Now there is no reason to ignore your credit report.

The free reports were rolled out in stages, depending on what region of the United States a state was located. For example, the West Coast has been able to get the credit report since last December. On March 1, Minnesota's time came.

The process of acquiring your report is quick and easy, as the FACT Act required the three agencies to make one Web site that would be user-friendly and would allow a consumer to access any of his or her three credit reports from all three of the agencies.

Here's what you have to do:
ï Point your Web browser to www.annualcreditreport.com.

ï Under the "start here" heading in the middle of the page select the state in which you live (only those who live in the Western or Midwestern states get free reports at this time).

ï The site then loads a page that requires you to enter all sorts of personal information, including your name, address and Social Security number. The site is secure and the operators of the site guarantee that your information is safe.

ï Choose from reports from the three credit reporting agencies. Experts recommend staggering your requests every four months so that you can keep on top of your credit year-round. But if you decide you want to compare all three reports, the Web site will allow you to do just that.

ï At least two of the three agencies from which I received reports used a few multiple choice questions about accounts to confirm my identity. For example, they may ask how much your monthly payment on a car or education loan is or from what bank you acquired that loan. If you pay your bills every month, you'll know the answers to the questions.

ï The online report is easy to navigate and offers a clear interpretation of the state of your credit affairs.

ï For those who do not want to conduct their request online, you can get your report via phone or mail as well. Call 1-877-322-8228 and follow the prompts.

ï Remember that you can only get your reports for free once a year. Should you decide to monitor them more frequently, the agencies still offer you the opportunity to pay $8-$10 for a report.

Staying on top of one's credit history is important not only for those monied folks with a wealth of assets. Even high school or college students will benefit from monitoring their credit activity.

Keeping your credit clean and free of the slime of identity theft early on could prevent you from encountering problems when it comes time to buy a house, rent an apartment, get a loan on a car or snatch up the latest boat.

If you should find irregularities in your report, such as accounts that you did not open or errors in the report, notify immediately the agency who provided the report.

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