Under Federal law, we’re entitled to three free credits per year, one from each of the major credit reporting agencies. Do not use the site freecreditreport.com…in order to get your credit reports (which you might never get), they require a membership in whatever it is they sell. There’s a NY Times article on this unsavory outfit here.

The only place to go is AnnualCreditReport.com. No strings, you can collect your 3 free credit reports all at once, or space them out as you wish.

Meanwhile, it’s not a bad idea to know your FICO score, especially if you’re planning on a major purchase like a car or a house (if consumer credit becomes available again). When you get a free credit report, you’re offered the option of buying your credit score, which I usually do for around $8. I don’t know how long this will last, but Equifax, one of the major credit reporting agencies (the other two are TransUnion and Experian) is offering a free credit score and not in conjunction with your annual free credit report. To get it, follow this link.

[[Update: Sorry, the free FICO score was limited to 10000 people and they’ve already fufilled that so the offer has expired.]]