With the rising incidence of identity theft, keeping an eye on your credit information is more important than ever. Thanks to a recent amendment to the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act, beginning June 1, 2005, Texas residents may obtain free copies of their credit reports from each of the three major credit reporting companies (Equifax, TransUnion and Experian). The program has been introduced in phases: Other states have had access to the service since December 1, 2004, and free reports will be available to residents of all 50 states effective September 1, 2005.

To obtain your credit reports, or for more information, go to www.annualcreditreport.com

The Federal Trade Commission has additional information, as well as information on how to avoid and recover from identity theft http://ftc.gov/bcp/conline/edcams/credit/ycr_free_reports.htm

Mac McMahan 05/19/05