Have you recently received a telephone call or mailing asking you to join a credit report monitoring service at a cost of $25 to $50? In return they may offer you a free copy of your credit report, a form to obtain an update from the Social Security office about your earnings/benefits, or a protection service against credit card theft losses.

Please be wary of such offers, even if the offers come from your own credit card companies or local department stores with which you have a revolving credit account. These are unnecessary services, because you can accomplish almost all of these goals on your own at no cost.

For example, to obtain a free copy of your credit report from Experian (formerly called TRW), one of the three major credit bureaus, you only need to make a written request to the following address:

Experian
P. 0. Box 8030
Layton UT 84041-8030
(800) 392-1122

You must include enough information to properly identify yourself so they know it is really you requesting the free copy you are entitled to receive each year. Give your full name including middle initial, your current address and any other address for the past five years, your social security number and year of birth, and a photocopy of a utility bill, driver's license or other document showing Experian that you live at the address you are giving them.

If your credit cards are stolen you can protect yourself from fraudulent charges on your account by contacting the card companies immediately, yourself, to report the theft. Simply keep a separate list of your credit card numbers and call each to report the theft. There is no real advantage to have the credit cards registered with a service for theft protection.

If you would like more information about credit reports and related topics, you may call the Cambridge Consumers' Council at 349-6150. The Council receives a grant through SCES to provide consumer information and assistance to Cambridge seniors.

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