WASHINGTON — Fewer than half of high school seniors surveyed know that the three nationwide consumer credit reporting companies are required to provide consumers with a free copy of their credit report, according to study conducted by the Jump$tart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy.
Only 47.7% of the high school students knew they could check their credit report for free once a year. College students did better–nearly three-quarters of them knew about the free credit report–but overall, the research seems to indicate a lack of knowledge in this area, the coalition concluded.
NAFCU is providing statement inserts so that credit unions can help inform their members about the availability of free credit reports and the dangers of identify theft–described by some as one of the fastest growing crimes in America.
The survey was funded by the Merrill Lynch Foundation and has been conducted since 1997.
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