Did you know that every person in the U.S. can get up to three free credit reports each year?

But you have to make sure that you request ONLY from AnnualCreditReport.com because it's VERY easy to be duped into using a different (scammy) website to access your free reports.

Forbes.com has a good article about how the program works:

The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) requires each of the nationwide consumer reporting companies to provide you with a free copy of your credit report, at your request, once every 12 months.To get it, go to www.AnnualCreditReport.com. This is the only site authorized by the FTC to distribute free credit reports. Spell it wrong, and you will likely end up at a fraudulent site that is trying to sell you something, or worse, collect your personal information for fraudulent purposes.

You can also link to the correct site through the FTC’s website at www.ftc.gov. You can order one from each of these reporting agencies every 12 months, or space them out over the period of a year. Credit scores are not offered as part of the free report. If you want your credit score, you will have to purchase this separately from one of the three reporting agencies.

via My Two Dollars