Select the icon labeled “credit reporting.” Complete and submit the online form.If you suspect that the error on your report is a result of identity theft, visit the Federal Trade
Commission’s Fighting Back Against Identity Theft website for information about identity theft
and steps to take if you have been victimized. This will include filing a fraud alert and possibly
filing a security freeze.
What are credit scores?
Credit scores sum up key pieces of your credit history in a number at a moment in time—like a
photograph. Companies that make credit scores each use their own complicated mathematical
formulas to do this. The information used in this formula comes from your credit reports. The
formulas are created by looking at how other people whose credit file looks like yours have paid
their bills over time.
Credit scores make it easier for businesses to make decisions about whether to do business with
you. This is because scores provide a standardized way for businesses to understand the risk that
you may not repay your loan. Without it, they would have to take the time to read and interpret
your credit report.
With credit scoring formulas, the higher the number, the less risky lenders believe you are likely
to be. In fact, most credit scoring formulas say that you are unlikely to default on a loan if your
credit scores are high.
FICO scores (calculated using a formula made by Fair Isaac Corporation) are the most
commonly used scores. These scores range from 300 to 850. People with the very best credit
scores have FICO Scores of 750 and higher. A score above 700 is considered good by most
businesses. According to the FICO Banking Analytics Blog, in 2012, just over 24% of the
population had FICO scores below 600, 22% of the population had scores from 600 to 699, and
53% of the population had scores of 700 or above.^35
(^35) FICO, FICO Scores Reflect Slow Economic Recovery, Bank Analytics Blog, September 18, 2012. See
http://bankinganalyticsblog.fico.com/2012/09/fico-scores-reflect-slow-economic-recovery-.html.