The best way to find out if you have been the victim of identity theft and to determine what accounts may have been opened in your name by criminals is to get a copy of your credit report. Prior to the pandemic, individuals were eligible to obtain a free credit report from each of the three credit reporting agencies once a year. Last year, the credit reporting agencies allowed eligible individuals to obtain their credit reports once a week for free.

The credit reporting agencies — Experian, TransUnion and Equifax — are extending the ability to obtain free weekly credit reports through April 20, 2021, according to the Federal Trade Commission [view related].

Make sure you go to the right site, as there are fake websites that claim to be the legitimate website and which then ask for your Social Security number or payment information in order to to commit fraud against you. Here is the legitimate site to get your free credit report. You also can always find the legitimate website access through the FTC website at www.ftc.gov.

[View source.]