A credit report is probably the most well-known, widely used tool for that various institutions will utilize to obtain personal information about an individual that they are considering providing a loan, a place to live, or employment to. But there are a number of other reports that can be accessed at no charge which provide information about an individual’s medical, rental, insurance, and even shopping habits. Most of these reports (with the exception of  #6, which can only be accessed by the retailers that collect it or the individual consumer) can be legally accessed by potential creditors, employers, insurers, landlords, and government agencies, and what is contained in them will affect your ability to get a loan, a job, insurance, and even a home. Clearly, the accuracy of this data is an important consideration for all individuals.

Considering that each of these seven reports is available to you for free, there is no reason not to review each of them on at least an annual basis. Here is the list and how to obtain each:

1. Credit Report. We hope this needs no explanation. http://annualcreditreport.com
2. Choicetrust. Information about you and your automobile and homeowners insurance loss claims filed with reporting carriers over the past three to seven years.
3. Your Health History. Information significant to your health or longevity is reported to the MIB database in coded form. It includes medical conditions that you reported on insurance applications for individual (not group) coverage, and test results from medical underwriting exams. Potentially hazardous hobbies and driving records may also be there. Your actual medical records are not reported. The IntelliScript and Med Point reports contain information about the prescription drugs you’ve used over the last five years, including dosages, refills, and doctors.
4. Chexsystems and TeleCheck
5. Your Background. ChoicePoint is one of the more prominent background-check companies. LexisNexis, which owns ChoicePoint, also provides Person Reports.
6. The Retail Equation maintains information on merchandise returns made to an undisclosed number of national retailers. Before customers are allowed to return goods, participating stores ask to run their driver’s licenses through a reader to check their return history. www.theretailequation.com/consumers/
7. Your Rental History. First Advantage SafeRent maintains a landlord-tenant database of 34 million records and a subprime payment history database of 40 million records to screen prospective renters. A smaller company, RentBureau, includes nearly 6 million records nationwide.

In a world where personal information is quickly becoming one of the most frequently stolen items by criminals, it is even more critical for individuals to be proactive in ensuring that their information remains safe and secure. These reports represent one more method that you can use to reduce the chances that you will be a victim of  some form identity fraud or theft.

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