Credit Site Blocks Easy Public Access
by Peter G. Miller
If you want to buy or refinance real estate you know one item that will be central to your transaction is the humble credit report. Such reports are available in minutes to lenders and now, under federal law, they are also available at no cost to a growing number of citizens nationwide. Credit reports are not only important in real estate, they're important generally. In an era of identify theft, credit fraud and computer errors there's no doubt that credit reports should be checked with some frequency. Given this background, you might think that a website established to promote consumer access to federally-required free credit reports would want to generate as much traffic as possible. If that seems logical and reasonable, then you might also suppose such a site would seek huge numbers of homepage links, a traditional way to build visitor volume. However, in a twist which is truly different, AnnualCreditReport.com has blocked incoming links from many websites. The reason? "Security purposes." This seems curious since I have never seen a home page blocked when it comes to ordering credit reports and related services for which companies charge. Indeed, judging from ads and e-mail, a lot of people who offer such products and services gleefully welcome both consumer site visits and consumer dollars. I found out about the blockage when I attempted to include a link to AnnualCreditReport.com from the credit resource center on my personal website. The result was a notice page which blocked my link: For security purposes www.AnnualCreditReport.com can be accessed by typing the web address "www.annualcreditreport.com", or from links from the Federal Trade Commission (www.ftc.gov), Equifax (www.equifax.com), Experian (www.experian.com) and TransUnion (www.transunion.com) websites. AnnualCreditReport.com is the only web source authorized by all three nationwide consumer credit reporting companies from which free annual credit file disclosures can be requested. Okay, so you might think that AnnualCreditReport.com would then have links to the FTC and the three major credit reporting agencies from its notice page so that consumers could easily get to the site. Nope. Or you might think that the security page would automatically re-direct users to a secure home page. Nope again. I tried using the link from the FTC and Google -- both of which led to the promised land of free credit reports. Is there some genius who went through the millions of websites now on the Internet to determine which are naughty and which are nice? Can such decisions be appealed? Why is linking a problem when free credit reports are involved but swift, certain and welcoming when consumers are asked to pay? This online selectivity is new to me. Since 1991, when I first went online, I do not re-call a single link to a public page which has been blocked for "security purposes." The White House, the CIA, the National Security Agency, the Department of Homeland Security, lenders and the credit reporting bureaus themselves all offer easy and immediate access to home pages and public pages. The oddity of this situation has not gone unnoticed. Six major consumer organizations -- the Electronic Privacy Information Center, Consumers Union, the US Public Interest Research Group (US PIRG), the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, Privacy Times and the Consumer Federation of America -- have sent a joint letter to the Federal Trade Commission alleging that the link blockage violates the Commission's regulations, is unjustified by security concerns, and makes it harder for consumers to obtain the free credit reports mandated by federal law. The consumer groups say that under FTC rules the free credit report site "shall not interfere with, detract from, or otherwise undermine the purpose of the centralized source." By blocking links to the site, allege the consumer groups, "the credit reporting agencies are frustrating access to free reports, and undermining the purpose of the source. They simply are making it more difficult for individuals to get their reports." Free credit reports are now being rolled out regionally under the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act, a process which will include all states by September 1st. In addition, a number of states have long required credit reporting agencies to provide free reports upon request at least once a year -- those states include Colorado, Georgia (up to two free reports per year), Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey and Vermont. Free reports are also available to those who are unemployed and seeking work, on welfare, or believe that credit information is inaccurate. If you have been denied a job, insurance or credit you can get a free credit report. For details please see: | 
