Reviewing them all simultaneously will give you a chance to review every possible piece of information for accuracy, regardless of whether it appears on all three reports. The three agencies receive their information from different sources some times, and so it is possible that the reports may not be identical.

If there is no pressing need, one strategy that is often taken is to stagger the requests, receiving one copy from Equifax, then four months later requesting the Experian report, and four months later, requesting the TransUnion report.

This way, you get a free report every four months, and this may give you a good opportunity to keep a close watch on your credit throughout the year. The “staggered” strategy is a good way to keep close watch to spot evidence of identity theft. A quick review of your report every four months will show evidence if this occurs, and you can put a stop to the fraud before it gets too out of hand.

It is no longer necessary to contact each of the three agencies individually to get your report. There is a  central clearing house that takes care of requests for all three agencies, called the Annual Credit Report Request Service. You can write to them and make your request, at P.O. Box 105281, Atlanta, Georgia 30348-5281. They also have a toll free number at 1-877-322-8228. Alternately, you can make your request online on their web site. If you make your request online, you will be able to access your credit report immediately through this web site. Alternately, if you request it by mail, it will take about 15 days to receive it.

If you have exhausted your free copies and still need an additional copy, you can buy them from the agencies directly, by contacting Equifax at 800-685-1111 (http://www.equifax.com/) Experian at 888-397-3742 (http://www.experian.com/); and Trans Union at 800-916-8800 (http://www.transunion.com/).

There are other web sites that offer free credit reports, but they have not been authorized to do so by the credit reporting agencies, and are usually attempting to lure you into signing a relatively worthless contract that you will ultimately have to pay for. The only authorized web site that is part of the free credit report program is annualcreditreport.com. It has been reported that some of these web site operators send spam emails, offering free credit reports, and ask for personal information. However, the annualcreditreport.com web site, and the three credit reporting agencies, do not ask for personal information via email—and so if you receive such a request, it is not legitimate and should be ignored and reported as spam.

It’s not difficult to get your free report. You will be asked to provide basic information, including your name, address, social security number, and birthdate.

In addition to being entitled to a free report (from each of the three agencies) once a year, you are also entitled to a free report if you apply for credit and are denied. If you receive a notice of denial, you may get a free copy of your credit report if you request it within 60 days of that notice, even if you’ve already received your free annual copy.