said by whateveah :


I might buy that if the error didn't point back to their server. And timing out is deffinately on their end. I'm basicly screwed. They just dump me to a pay site now.

said by ylen131 :

whateveah that is really interesting that you a problem three different time. I did 2 yesterday and 1 today like i said before with no problem. Wonder if you some security that prevent it from loading the webpage. Strange all i can say

said by ylen131 :

dose it tell you that after you in put your info? as you are eligible to get 3 different reports. If it tells you after the webpage opens and u select the state then delete your cookie and try again

said by whateveah :

Won't work. It says I already got it and won't let me in again

said by ylen131 :

i guess allot of people are hitting the place. I did 3 different inquires my self, mom and dad and had no problem so just try again it should work

said by whateveah :

Tried it - it timed out - no way to log in again to get it - got hosed. I would say wait a few weeks until the trafic dies down and they have bugs like this worked out.

said by B :

Cool. You're the early adopter... or beta tester... guinea pig?
:)

-- B

said by B :

How? It's not open yet.

And doesn't freecreditreport.com force you to try a useless monitoring service?

-- B

said by metrodust :

just used it. and it works fine. its not any different then using freecreditreport.com

Let me be honest here, no one gives away anything for nothing. There is a price for everything. In order to get a free credit report from freecreditreport.com you must sign up for the Credit Check Monitoring service. The trick to getting your free credit report is to cancel the Monitoring service before your thirty days are up.

said by systems2000 :

A vast majority of U.S. residents can get free checking, either through keeping a certain amount of funds in their account or by shopping around.

said by Steve :

"Checking accounts" and "phones" are absolutely vital parts of our economy, but those shouldn't be free either.

said by ylen131 :

If someone that can't afford to spend $54 a year on credit history shouldn't worry to much about his credit as crooks don't steal people identity that don't have allot of money

said by dvd536 :

so does this 'automatically' enroll you in some expensive hard to cancel service like freecreditreport.com does?

said by SnowyOne :

So we should pay for the duty of checking that the credit info collected on ourselves is indeed accurate & up to date?

said by Steve :

"Checking accounts" and "phones" are absolutely vital parts of our economy, but those shouldn't be free either.

said by mrgeek :

So, is anybody here going to use the website when the time comes? Or, due to security concerns, use the phone or mail option?

said by B :

These aren't magazine publishers or small town dairies -- they're an absolutely vital part of the economy for just about everyone.

said by SnowyOne :

So we should pay for the duty of checking that the credit info collected on ourselves is indeed accurate & up to date?

said by SnowyOne :

So we should pay for the duty of checking that the credit info collected on ourselves is indeed accurate & up to date?

said by Steve :

Why should a private organization be required to give you, or anybody else, free service? Why not require the milkman to give you a free gallon of milk every year? And a free issue of Playgirl while they're at it?

Steve

said by Mele20 :

We are both grateful to Congress for passing this act that will allow us to get credit reports even though once a year is not enough to monitor for identity theft it is a start and is certainly better than no credit reports.

said by Mele20 :

To all of you who are pooh-pooing this, I'm glad you are lucky enough to live in a state (there are only a few states) where you could get a free credit report from each bureau. I cannot in Hawaii and my mother cannot in Arkansas. I am disabled and mother is quite elderly. We both do not have the money to pay for credit reports. I have never had one nor has my mother. We are both grateful to Congress for passing this act that will allow us to get credit reports even though once a year is not enough to monitor for identity theft it is a start and is certainly better than no credit reports. I do think it is taking way too long to implement the law. My mother has to wait until this summer to get hers.
_______________________________________________________________________________________

The way to do it is to get a credit report from a different bureau every four months during the year. Since there are 3 major bureaus, you can monitor for changes every 4 months.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,11986336 Mon, 29 Nov 2004 21:51:51 EDT http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,11984409 ylen131 : we the rich do not want poor to enjoy the same benefit that we have been able to pay for. We have been paying for this privilege for many years and don't feel that poor should have the same ability to protect there identity as we the rich have been able to:):)]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,11984409 Mon, 29 Nov 2004 18:32:17 EDT http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,11983942 Mele20 : To all of you who are pooh-pooing this, I'm glad you are lucky enough to live in a state (there are only a few states) where you could get a free credit report from each bureau. I cannot in Hawaii and my mother cannot in Arkansas. I am disabled and mother is quite elderly. We both do not have the money to pay for credit reports. I have never had one nor has my mother. We are both grateful to Congress for passing this act that will allow us to get credit reports even though once a year is not enough to monitor for identity theft it is a start and is certainly better than no credit reports. I do think it is taking way too long to implement the law. My mother has to wait until this summer to get hers.
--
The first and foremost function of our jurors is to protect private citizens from a tyrannical and intrusive government...Jurors are the last line of defense for liberty. Thomas Jefferson 1789]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,11983942 Mon, 29 Nov 2004 17:39:30 EDT http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,11981897 B :
Yes, "only in certain states".

Again, I was NOT "always entitled" to such a report before. Sheesh.

The whole point is that this is a tri-bureau report that will eventually be available to everyone. They've managed to roll it out slowly so as to get away with another year of charging for the things in half the states.

So no, ultimately it will not be the "same at this site as well".

-- B
--
In a realm outside causality and function]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,11981897 Mon, 29 Nov 2004 13:28:46 EDT http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,11981659 anon : You were always entitled to a free annual credit report
only in certain states- only 1 FREE one a year!!
I beleive that it will be the same at this site as well! ]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,11981659 Mon, 29 Nov 2004 13:00:27 EDT http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,11980841 B :

said by wwdubbia :

You were always entitled to a free annual credit report

No, I wasn't.

-- B
--
In a realm outside causality and function]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,11980841 Mon, 29 Nov 2004 10:46:47 EDT http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,11980788 wwdubbia : You were always entitled to a free annual credit report, or a free report if you were denied credit.

A great site where they will probably be discussing this is: »www.creditboards.com]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,11980788 Mon, 29 Nov 2004 10:39:37 EDT http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,11980488 mrgeek : Article is here....(have your pop-up blocker ready;)) »www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/ar···v26.html]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,11980488 Mon, 29 Nov 2004 09:41:37 EDT http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,11980476 ylen131 :

said by B :



Uh, that looks like the same URL I posted a few minutes ago, grabbed from your Yahoo link. And no, it still doesn't work (directly).

-- B

ye it was i posted and tried and it didn't work
edit:if u drag and drop that link it works ]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,11980476 Mon, 29 Nov 2004 09:39:47 EDT http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,11980473 B :
Uh, that looks like the same URL I posted a few minutes ago, grabbed from your Yahoo link. And no, it still doesn't work (directly).

-- B
--
In a realm outside causality and function]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,11980473 Mon, 29 Nov 2004 09:38:26 EDT http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,11980457 ylen131 : nm]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,11980457 Mon, 29 Nov 2004 09:36:35 EDT http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,11980452 ylen131 :

said by B :

Nah, you don't need to delete anything. It's the same referrer issue we were discussing above.

-- B

you're right just read the hole thread, basically it safe you time from retyping the link]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,11980452 Mon, 29 Nov 2004 09:35:44 EDT http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,11980421 B :
Nah, you don't need to delete anything. It's the same referrer issue we were discussing above.

-- B
--
In a realm outside causality and function]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,11980421 Mon, 29 Nov 2004 09:31:29 EDT http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,11980409 ylen131 :

said by B :

The same link does NOT work from here ( »rds.yahoo.com/S=2766679/K=annual···ort.com/ )

So I guess Yahoo's on the whitelist I theorized earlier?

-- B

no idea but after i click on your link i needed to delete "cra/index.jsp" and click enter to enter website]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,11980409 Mon, 29 Nov 2004 09:28:48 EDT http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,11980405 B : The same link does NOT work from here ( »rds.yahoo.com/S=2766679/K=annual···ort.com/ )

So I guess Yahoo's on the whitelist I theorized earlier?

-- B
--
In a realm outside causality and function]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,11980405 Mon, 29 Nov 2004 09:27:23 EDT http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,11980392 ylen131 : »search.yahoo.com/search?p=annual···ieas-dns

click on first link]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,11980392 Mon, 29 Nov 2004 09:24:46 EDT http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,11980390 mrgeek : The original article I referenced to was in the Sunday edition of the Chicago Tribune, in the Real Estate section, page 2. It does show a Washington Post Writers Group byline.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,11980390 Mon, 29 Nov 2004 09:23:58 EDT http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,11978514 Mele20 : I think they currently have all links blacklisted. I tried from the Yahoo news article link and got the same security error. This was on IE in case it just Firefox getting the error from dslr link.

Perhaps they simply don't want visitors even to the main page until December 1. They will be swamped on December 1, I would think.
--
The first and foremost function of our jurors is to protect private citizens from a tyrannical and intrusive government...Jurors are the last line of defense for liberty. Thomas Jefferson 1789]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,11978514 Sun, 28 Nov 2004 23:34:22 EDT http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,11978353 B : Me too, with the stock Moz Ctrl-Click tab.

Hmm, just noticed that the page title reads "Black List Message" -- implying that DSLR, SPECIFICALLY, is not allowed to refer people to the site.

I'm guessing that it's either meaningless, or they intend to establish a whitelist later.

The HTML is a bit scary, though:

Black List Message
Black List Message</title>
<meta name="GENERATOR" content="Microsoft Visual Studio .NET 7.1">
<meta name="vs_targetSchema" content="http://schemas.microsoft.com/intellisense/ie5">
<link rel="stylesheet" href="css/styles.css" type="text/css">
</head>
<A HREF="css/styles.csstype=text/css">
 

Doesn't bode well for security OR standards compliance OR cross-platform compatibility, ya know?

-- B
--
In a realm outside causality and function]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,11978353 Sun, 28 Nov 2004 23:10:57 EDT http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,11977893 Mele20 : TBE opens all new links in a new tab. I still get the security error. ]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,11977893 Sun, 28 Nov 2004 22:12:21 EDT http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,11977754 Bobby_Peru : I didn't elaborate that the https link returned the "Security" page. I realize that they probably see this referral block (or what ever it is) as a security measure. I didn't mean that there was any compatibility problem between The Weasel and the site, just that it occurred and was interesting.

FF's Contextual Menu Extension PlainTextLinks ("Open Selected URL in New Tab") works, as does IEView. I am generally way too lazy to be typing anything way way up in that there address bar [edit: unless it's about:config related].

It is way past time that these Agencies made this information readily available to folks, and at no direct charge to folks. While one Report per Agency per year is not really sufficient to enable frequent enough review to catch problems in a timely manner, it's better than nothing, and at least a start. It might make sense to make 3 separate single Agency requests to increase the frequency, if that is permitted.

Now, as the OP wondered, how will all this wind up being abused? One way might be that the scammers will utilize this roll-out to simultaneously capture folks through more sleaze-ball prestidigitation (UCE for scam sites, PHISHING...).
--
**~~Infected/Hijacked? FAQ~~~Protect/Secure Your Box/Data FAQ~~~Security Forum FAQs~~**]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,11977754 Sun, 28 Nov 2004 21:55:01 EDT http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,11977439 B : If one can't properly link to the darned site, then they had darned well better:

a. Register EVERY possible misspelling and variant of annualcreditreport.com, since they're forcing all those great spellers out there to type the URL manually, and

b. Put a note on the refusal page that says "hit Refresh, dummy". Or words to that effect. :)

Damn, that doesn't really work either! (I was actually hitting ALT-D and then ENTER, since that's how I usually refresh a page. That DOES work, but it's because I'm activating the URL bar, and effectively typing and entering the URL.) Thanks for the reality check, Snowy.

-- B
--
In a realm outside causality and function]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,11977439 Sun, 28 Nov 2004 20:50:29 EDT http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,11977388 SnowyOne : From the link B put up
»biz.yahoo.com/prnews/041123/cltu020_1.html
"Annualcreditreport.com, the only service authorized by Equifax, Experian and TransUnion, allows consumers to request, view and print one, two or all three of their free credit reports in a fast and convenient way via a secure Internet site. Consumers should not provide their personal information to any other company or person in connection with requesting free annual credit file disclosures under the FACT Act.

Additionally, the service offers consumers the option of requesting their credit reports by telephone or by mail. Forms to request credit reports by mail can be printed from the site. Telephone and mail requests will be processed within 15 days of receipt."

Seems like a well thought out process. I'm sure the postal mail option will require that the report be sent to the consumers address of record, just another good security precaution. This site could very well put a dent into myriad of bogus "Free Credit Report" sites now operating on the net.
--
Dave said "By the way, 4294967295 is just another way to write -1". ]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,11977388 Sun, 28 Nov 2004 20:42:00 EDT http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,11977301 Mele20 :

said by Bobby_Peru :

Probably compliance with Fed Law forcing this, which they might just figure out a way to turn profitable through data mining, and or ads?

Interestingly, the site won't let me on through the above link, in FF.

You can't go there by a link for security purposes which is good! I got the following error when I tried:

"For security purposes, www.AnnualCreditReport.com cannot be accessed from the referring website."

You MUST manually type in the url in the address bar. When I did that, I had no problems getting to the main page of the site via Firefox.

I'm glad top know the site is already up. I have been waiting for December 1 so I can order my report. My mom wants hers but she is in Arkansas and that state will not be eligible until July. This is mandated by Congress and has taken over a year to become reality and even so the rollout is gradual as you can see from the map. Each person will be allowed ONE report PER YEAR FREE from each of the THREE credit bureaus and the reports can be ordered from the website or from calling any of the three credit bureaus. You will get all three reports with just one phone call or one request from the website. The credit bureaus have said almost nothing about this except for Experian which, to its credit, has had this information on its main web page since June and has this column about the FACT act:

Ask Max credit advice
Our most recent column
Select a topic from our most recent column – July 14, 2004

* Update on the FACT Act implementation
* Experian sponsors National Fraud Awareness Week




Update on the FACT Act implementation

"Dear Readers,

In January I provided a summary of the new Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACT Act) and what Experian knew then about the law. Since that time, significant progress has been made. Here's an update.

When I wrote the January column the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and other regulators were tasked with making decisions about how some aspects of the new law would be implemented. Perhaps the most notable is how you will be able to get a free credit report every 12 months from the national credit reporting agencies.

The FACT Act required that the national credit reporting agencies establish a centralized source through which you will request the free reports. The FTC was given six months to create the rules for the centralized source. Those rules were announced in June.

Experian and the other national credit reporting agencies are now working to put the centralized source in place.

One of our greatest concerns was that if everyone asks for their reports at the same time it would not only delay delivery of the free reports, it could impact our ability to provide service to people who need critical assistance, such as fraud victims.

To address that concern, the FTC established a plan to roll-out free report access by regions beginning Dec. 1, 2004. The chart below illustrates the regions and the dates free reports will become available.

FACT Act rollout graphic

You will be able to request free reports by telephone, in writing, or online. You also will be able to request reports from all three national credit reporting agencies at the same time, or one at a time.

The national credit reporting agencies are working together to finalize the details of the system, including a telephone number, mailing address and Internet address.

In addition to your free report, you will be able to request a credit score for a reasonable fee. Like other details of the system, that fee is still being determined by the FTC.

The credit score will include a description of the factors from your credit report that most impacted it. Knowing the factors will help you take steps to become more creditworthy and improve your credit scores.

Experian has added information about the FACT Act to its homepage, www.experian.com. You will find a link in the lower right corner in the Consumer Alerts section. The information will be updated as more details become available.

Thanks for reading."

»www.experian.com/consumer/index.html#
This is a popup window see bottom right column under Consumer Alerts: The FACT Act

I was thinking of doing this online but I am not giving my Social Security number online. I will wait a bit and then call for mine.
--
The first and foremost function of our jurors is to protect private citizens from a tyrannical and intrusive government...Jurors are the last line of defense for liberty. Thomas Jefferson 1789]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,11977301 Sun, 28 Nov 2004 20:31:27 EDT http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,11977242 B : The problem is that you guys are cutting and pasting after you've arrived at the site and ALREADY been transferred from the unencrypted (http) page to the https page.

What you need to post is THIS link: »www.annualcreditreport.com

That should work without any complaints.

(Edit: Crud. It didn't work, although my link IS properly without https. But it just continues to transparently auto-refer. Drat.)

And yes, I suppose this phenomenon will cause confusion for others posting links to the site -- they should probably skip the referrer check on the first page!

-- B
--
In a realm outside causality and function]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,11977242 Sun, 28 Nov 2004 20:22:41 EDT http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,11977210 SnowyOne : Try this link
»https://www.annualcreditreport.com/
Any "security" concern I'd have with this site would be focused more on the integrity of the machine accessing the site rather than the site itself.
edit typing the address into the address bar works here.
--
Dave said "By the way, 4294967295 is just another way to write -1".
]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,11977210 Sun, 28 Nov 2004 20:17:31 EDT http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,11977152 B :
Hilarious. Keep trying though. I get "For security purposes, www.AnnualCreditReport.com cannot be accessed from the referring website." in Mozilla 1.7, but then a refresh works just fine.

I think for a change this isn't browser-specific, but that they're telling the truth -- they don't like displaying the https secure page when referred from a different site. Makes sense.

-- B
--
In a realm outside causality and function]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,11977152 Sun, 28 Nov 2004 20:06:59 EDT http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,11977121 Bobby_Peru : Probably compliance with Fed Law forcing this, which they might just figure out a way to turn profitable through data mining, and or ads?

Interestingly, the site won't let me on through the above link, in FF.
--
**~~Infected/Hijacked? FAQ~~~Protect/Secure Your Box/Data FAQ~~~Security Forum FAQs~~**]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,11977121 Sun, 28 Nov 2004 20:02:48 EDT http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,11977077 B : I'm just a little suspicious.

Each of the Big 3 charges $30 to $40 for the SAME service right now, and would not be inclined to give it away unless mandated.

(Edit: I guess they were mandated -- something called the "Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACT Act)".)

Perhaps this is merely a competitor to FreeCreditReport.com ?

Perhaps a scam? (Edit: guess not.)

Edit: Yahoo press release: »biz.yahoo.com/prnews/041123/cltu020_1.html

Experian PDF: »www.experian.com/whitepapers/FAC···sked.pdf

Other info: »www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&···2Bcom%22

-- B
--
In a realm outside causality and function]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,11977077 Sun, 28 Nov 2004 19:56:52 EDT http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,11977045 Bobby_Peru : Thanks for the heads-up, mrgeek ! As B already noted, it would be great if you would post the source - a quick Google/Google-news just now was not productive.

said by AnnualCreditReport.com:



Eligibility for an annual free credit report is determined by your state of residence based on the rollout schedule set by federal law.

The site's main page is live now - »https://www.annualcreditreport.com
--
**~~Infected/Hijacked? FAQ~~~Protect/Secure Your Box/Data FAQ~~~Security Forum FAQs~~**

Big 3 Credit Report Site

]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,11977045 Sun, 28 Nov 2004 19:51:36 EDT http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,11976944 B : With relevant links to a news source or links on the credit bureaus' own sites, this would make a great front page post.

I wasn't aware of the program.

-- B
--
In a realm outside causality and function]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,11976944 Sun, 28 Nov 2004 19:37:01 EDT http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,11976500 mrgeek : I see that starting 12/1, we will be able to get free copies of our credit reports from the three major credit bureaus. A web site was created for this purpose,(annualcreditreport.com, live 12/1) where you will enter personal information such as DOB and SSN, and, possibly other items such as mortgage company and/or payment amount. The article further stated your information would be protected with a "barrage of anti-hacker tools". The reports would also be available by phone or mail. Will this be a potential security problem and phishers dream?

I DO know one person who will not be using the web site;) ]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,11976500 Sun, 28 Nov 2004 18:24:56 EDT