Many people simply type in “Free Credit Report” into their favorite search engine hoping to hit gold. Unfortunately, the majority of sites that come up on top are sites that don’t really offer free credit reports, but rather are sites that are offering credit monitoring services.

Unfortunately, many “free” credit report websites do business like the free credit report sites mentioned above. The trick is finding the right website to use.

According to the FTC website, there is only one website that is authorized to give out free credit reports. Here’s what the FTC website says:

“Important information from the Federal Trade Commission, the nation’s consumer protection agency: annualcreditreport.com is the ONLY authorized online source for you to get a free credit report under federal law. You can get a free report from each of the three national credit reporting companies every 12 months. Some other sites claim to offer ‘free’ credit reports, but may charge you for another product if you accept a ‘free’ report.”

The AnnualCreditReport.com website was easy to use and we were able to access all three credit reports without paying a penny.

You can also get your free credit report via phone by calling 877-322-8228. Just remember, you can only request one free credit report from each of the three credit reporting agencies each year.