LinuxWebLog.com

Checked and updated for 2026. Since these are available every 12 months, it is a good idea to check these near or around the same time each year. A lot of companies make their money by collecting and selling data – your personal data. It can be critical to know what they are telling prospective lenders, landlords, even employers about you. Under the FCRA and/or FACT Act, many consumer reporting agencies (CRAs) are now legally required to send you a free copy of your report every 12 months, as well as provide a way to dispute incorrect information.

Some have an online request form, but some are purposefully making it harder to check your reports by removing the online option. Don’t be afraid to call them if needed. You probably won’t want to bother checking all of them anyhow, but if you’ve experienced any sort of rejection or adverse action in these areas the cause might be found inside one of these databases. Keep in mind that you may not have a file with all of these places. Requesting a copy of your own consumer reports does not hurt your credit score.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has been doing a better job maintaining their own comprehensive list of CRAs (PDF version) recently, so I am editing down this list to include direct links to the overall categories along with the larger and more widely-used consumer reporting agencies.

Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion. The three major credit bureaus track your credit accounts, payment history, and other related information like bankrupts and liens. Free online credit reports now available weekly (the frequency was increased from annual to weekly during the COVID pandemic, but that change has been made permanent).

• AnnualCreditReport.com
• 877-322-8228

(Note: As part of a class action settlement, you may also request up to six additional free copies of your Equifax credit report directly from myEquifax during any 12-month period through December 2026.)

You can also now freeze your credit reports for free, but you must contact each bureau separately. For the contact info, please see Big List of Ways To Protect Your Identity: Free Credit Monitoring, Free Credit Locks, and Free Credit Freezes

LexisNexis. One of the largest personal information databases that includes public records, real estate transaction and ownership data, lien, judgment, and bankruptcy records, professional license information, and historical addresses on file. Free copy, must mail in form.

• LexisNexis.com request page
• 866-897-8126

Innovis. Innovis is a lesser-known but still large nationwide CRA, providing credit reports to places including payday lenders, utilities, landlords, employment screening, and insurance companies.

• Innovis request page
• 866-712-0021

Chexsystems. A consumer information database used by an estimated 80-90% of all banks to help determine the risk of opening new accounts. Think of it as the banks’ version of a credit bureau. If a person commits check fraud or overdraws their account, it will be listed here. In addition, the simple act of opening or closing a bank account may be recorded in their database. Having a negative ChexSystems record can leave you blacklisted from opening bank accounts at most major banks. Free copy once every 12 months. You can now request your report online.

• ChexSystems request page
• 800-428-9623

Early Warning Services (EWS). Provides deposit account data to lenders. Early Warning is co-owned by seven of the largest banks in the US (Bank of America, Capital One, JPMorgan Chase, PNC Bank, Truist, U.S. Bank and Wells Fargo.)

• ChexSystems request page
• 800-745-1560

Microbilt and subsidiary Payment Reporting Builds Credit (PRBC). Microbilt is a provider of credit data for the “approximately 110 million underserved and underbanked consumers in the United States.” Free copy once every 12 months.

• Microbilt.com request form
• 888-222-7621

Realpage (LeasingDesk) Consumer Report. Provides tenant screening through their LeasingDesk product, including “the industry’s largest rental payment history database.”

• RealPage.com report request page
• 866-934-1124

CoreLogic SafeRent. SafeRent provides both tenant and employment screening data, including information regarding landlord tenant and criminal public court records. One free report every 12 months.

• CoreLogic.com report request form
• 888-333-2413

Experian RentBureau Rental History Report. “Every 24 hours, Experian RentBureau receives updated rental payment history data from property owners/managers, electronic rent payment services and collection companies and makes that information available immediately to the multifamily industry through our resident screening partners.”

• Experian.com/RentBureau report request page (scroll down a bit; PDF form)
• 877-704-4519

TransUnion Rental Screening Solutions. SmartMove provides tenant credit, eviction, and background checks.

• MySmartMove.com FAQ page
• SmartMove will disclose the contents of a criminal and/or credit report retained by SmartMove to an individual who requests a copy of their report. To verify your identity and obtain a copy of your report(s) or dispute any information within that report, please contact customer service at 866-775-0961.

C.L.U.E. Personal Property Report. A division of LexisNexis, CLUE stands for Comprehensive Loss Underwriting Exchange, which collects information that is used to calculate your insurance premiums. This report provides a seven year history of losses associated with an individual and his/her personal property. Includes date of loss, loss type, and amount paid along with general information such as policy number, claim number and insurance company name. This also means you can find out about previous claims on the house you are currently renting or recently bought, even if they weren’t made by you.

• LexisNexis.com CLUE report request page
• 866-312-8076

C.L.U.E. Auto Report. This report provides a seven year history of automobile insurance losses associated with an individual. Includes date of loss, loss type, and amount paid along with general information such as policy number, claim number and insurance company name.

• LexisNexis.com CLUE report request page
• 866-312-8076

A-PLUS Loss History Reports, subsidiary of Verisk. ISO stands for Insurance Services Office, A-PLUS stands for Automated Property Loss Underwriting System. Auto and property loss claim history.

• Verisk.com report request page
• 800-627-3487

National Consumer Telecom and Utilities Exchange. NCTUE tracks when people don’t pay their phone, cable, or utility bills. One free report every 12 months.

• NCTUE.com report request page
• 866-349-5185

The Retail Equation. Tracks product return and exchange abuse at retail merchants.

• TheRetailEquation.com request page
• 800-652-2331 or returnactivityreport@theretailequation.com

MIB (previously known as Medical Information Bureau). Run by 470 insurance companies with a “primary mission of detecting and deterring fraud that may occur in the course of obtaining life, health, disability income, critical illness, and long-term care insurance.” They record information of “underwriting significance” like medical conditions or hazardous activities. If you have not applied for individually underwritten life, health, or disability income insurance during the preceding seven year period, then you probably don’t have a record.

• MIB.com report request page
• 866-692-6901

Milliman IntelliScript. Tracks your prescription drug purchase history. “Milliman IntelliScript will have prescription information about you only if you authorized the release of your medical records to an insurance company and that company requested that we gather a report on you.”

• RXHistories.com report request page (see bottom)
• 877-211-4816

The following companies all offer background screening services for employers. Most will not have any information about you unless you authorized a potential employer to run a background check on you (probably during the application process). Some will not provide you information unless there was adverse action. Otherwise, you can get one free copy every 12 months. There are a LOT more of these companies in the full list linked above.

The main point here is that if you do apply for a job and someone runs a background check on you, you can get a free copy for yourself if you formally request it. This is important to be able to quickly dispute any incorrect or negative information on those reports.

The Work Number (division of Equifax). They also keep historical income records.

• TheWorkNumber.com report request page
• 866-604-6570

Backgroundchecks.com

• Backgroundchecks.com report request page
• 866-265-6602

Checkr

• Checkr candidate portal (access report here).
• 844-824-3257

Accurate

• Accurate.com report request info
• 800-216-8024

ADP Screening and Selection Services

• ADPselect.com (click on Applicant Resources)
• 888-606-7868 (Option 2)

Reminder for new tax season. Identity Protection PINs (IP PIN) have been updated for 2026 (they are updated every January).

An important “hardening” tactic against identity theft is to obtain an Identity Protection PIN (IP PIN) from the IRS. The common scam here is that someone with your name, address, and Social Security Number will file a tax return before you do, and then steal the resulting tax refund for themselves. In 2022, over 228,000 taxpayers filed IRS Form 14039, Identity Theft Affidavit, which asserts “I know or suspect that someone used my information to fraudulently file a federal tax return”.

Once you opt-in to the IP PIN program, the IRS will not accept any tax return filed during the current calendar year (even for prior years) without this unique six-digit number. Every calendar year in January, you’ll get assigned a new IP PIN. Getting one at any time will still prevent anyone from filing a fraudulent return during the rest of that calendar year.

To do it completely online, you’ll need an ID.me account, which is a third-party provider that the IRS trusts to verify your identity. From their page:

You can use either a self-service process that requires a photo of a government ID and selfie, or a live call with an ID.me video chat agent that doesn’t require biometric data.

I had already set up an ID.me account for another purpose years ago, but I do remember that the selfie method worked eventually for me but my wife had to go for the live video chat method. I’ve also had to deal with problems with rejected ID photos, too much glare, software crashes, etc.

If you forget your PIN, you can always sign back into your IRS.gov account and view it again under your Profile. This is another reason to take extra care with your ID.me/IRS.gov passwords and MFA methods. ID.me lets you set up a TOTP Authenticator app for MFA. Also set a reminder to use it when you eventually file taxes, so your return doesn’t get rejected.

More information at the IRS IP PIN FAQ page (that’s a lot of acronyms!).

My older two kids do not have smartphones, but instead both have an Apple Watch SE w/ Cellular for basic calling and texting needs. (We like these Anxious Generation guidelines.) After a year on BetterRoaming service, which was the cheapest option at the time for those not on a major postpaid plan, I switched their Apple Watch plans over to the US Mobile Smartwatch Plan.

I’ve been on US Mobile for a few months now, and I wanted to provide an update that US Mobile is the clear winner for our Apple Watch service. US Mobile provides better cellular coverage (in my area) on the Verizon network, a cheaper ongoing price, and a better customer service experience. Here are the details, with direct comparisons to BetterRoaming where available.

Plan summary.

• $78 for 12 months if paid upfront ($6.50/month), or $9.50 monthly.
• Unlimited Talk & Text
• Unlimited Data
• WiFi Calling Enabled
• Instant eSIM Activation (Actually true! Under 10 minutes to set up)
• 24/7 Customer Support
• Works with 4G LTE and 5G watches

Overall experience using Apple Watch as a standalone phone for a kid. A major takeaway is that the Apple Watch is a tiny phone with a tiny cellular antenna inside. Most people use Apple Watches as companions to their iPhone, so it’s just meant as a backup when you’re out running or swimming or something. As a primary phone, it has a hard time getting a signal in areas of weak coverage and inside buildings. Basically, a throwback to the early 2000s for us more “mature” folks.

Honestly, the most common failure point was a kid forgetting to charge the watch overnight. In other words, you can’t always depend on the watch to work, so you’ll need to work out backup plans (i.e. meet at this tree, or send me an e-mail via school Wifi). The setup is still convenient and useful, and over time they do figure out where you have service and form the habit of charging the darn thing.

Cellular network coverage uses Verizon towers. US Mobile currently only offers their standalone Apple Watch plan on “Warp”, which is their contractually-obligated alternative name for the Verizon network. BetterRoaming is a worldwide eSIM provider, and my best efforts indicate that they are now on the T-Mobile network (but used to be on AT&T?). After switching to the Verizon network, I found that our coverage issues definitely improved, but there are still times where they don’t have a signal, even next to a smartphone that works perfectly fine.

US Mobile lets you pick the area code for your phone number (if not porting-in). BetterRoaming just assigns you one and you don’t get to choose. This may or may not matter to you.

US Mobile has competitive pricing. At my annual renewal, US Mobile’s annual plan was $78 (works out to $6.50 per month) while BetterRoaming was at $99. BetterRoaming has since dropped the price to match, so both are now $78 for the first year if prepaid upfront. However, I don’t know if you can renew at $78 with BetterRoaming, as it says the savings are only for “New customers”. US Mobile lets you renew at $78/year and it’s month-to-month pricing is also lower ($9.50 vs. $10.99 per month).

US Mobile overall has solid customer support and user interface. After setting up Apple Watches with both companies and dealing with multiple MVNOs over the years, I have found that US Mobile has some of the best customer service across all the MVNOs. You can tell they invested some money into this part of the experience. Their videos are useful and their online chat is responsive – most importantly, the reps seem to know what they are doing! In fact, it was such a good experience that (in addition to other reasons), a few months afterward I also switched my personal smartphone line from Mint Mobile to their US Mobile Unlimited Plan*. That’s a separate post, but the customer service part held true, as the port-over and setup process with US Mobile was so much smoother than my stint with Visible.

* That is my US Mobile referral link, which offers a $25 credit after spending 6 months and $100 total at US Mobile w/ port-in. Works on both regular smartphone plans and the Smartwatch plans, but note the port-in part, as I didn’t port-in a number for our Apple Watches. Full fine print:

To qualify for the $25 referral bonus, you must maintain active paid service in good standing for 6 months, port in a new line, and spend a total of $100 on Unlimited, By the Gig, or Smartwatch plans — Other plans, top-ups, devices, add-ons, roaming, and certain promotions (listed at usmobile.com/promo-archive) are excluded. Annual plans will be prorated monthly (e.g. $228 equals $114 after 6 months).

Updated January 2026. Navy Federal Credit Union is the nation’s largest credit union, with a long history of serving active military members. More recently, they have expanded their field of membership to include veterans and family members of veterans. Here are some current noteworthy offers:

• 13-month Special Certificate at 4.00% APY. Open with as little as $50, but make additional deposits any time up to the maximum of $250,000. Valid for taxable, IRAs, ESAs.
• Credit card $250 bonus: Open a new cashRewards or cashRewards Plus credit card and get $250 when you spend $2,500 within 90 days of account opening. Unlimited 2% cash back on all purchases with cashRewards Plus. No annual fee. 1.99% intro APR for 12 months from account opening on balance transfers made in your first 60 days, with no balance transfer fees.
• Auto loan $200 bonus if your auto refinance loan is at least $5,000. Their rates are usually competitive as well, starting at under 4%.

NavyFed likes to offer these special add-on CDs regularly, and I usually always open one with the minimum $50 because I like the optionality. If rates drop drastically somehow, I’ll have the ability to add unlimited additional funds at 4.00% APY. If nothing big happens (most likely scenario), I’ll only have committed $50, which I can later roll over into the next special CD. Once you have joined NavyFed, it just takes a few clicks.

New quarter, new offers. A quick 2026 Q1 reminder that you can discover targeted offers for your Chase-issued credit card at Chase.com/mybonus. This includes both their in-house cards like Sapphire or Freedom Flex and their co-branded cards like United, IHG, Hyatt, Southwest, Amazon, etc. For some reason, these are often offers that they don’t tell you about otherwise by email or snail mail.

You might get 5X points or 5% cash back on up to $1,000 spent on Gas Stations, Groceries, and Restaurants:

You may also simply get a message that your card can’t be found or that you weren’t targeted: