A credit score summarizes your entire credit report information into one number. This number is calculated by a mathematical equation that evaluates many types of data points (score factors) from your credit report at that particular credit-reporting agency. By comparing this information to the patterns in thousands of past credit reports, scoring identifies your level of credit risk. Your score tells a lender how likely you are to repay a loan, or make credit payments on time. The higher your score is, the better chance you have of getting the credit you apply for.

A credit score summarizes your entire credit report information into one number. This number is calculated by a mathematical equation that evaluates many types of data points (score factors) from your credit report at that particular credit-reporting agency. There are many types of score factors that can have a positive or negative effect on your score. Some examples include:

• - Too many inquiries (how often you apply for credit)
• - Too many serious delinquencies (how timely your account payments are)
• - Too many recently opened accounts (how often you have opened new lines of credit recently)
• - Average balance of revolving accounts is too high (what you owe vs. available)
• - Too few mortgage accounts (what types of credit do you use)

Credit scores are one of the main tools creditors, employers, insurance and finance companies rely on to determine your creditworthiness. Each of the national credit reporting agencies, Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion, also offers industry-specific scores and methods to check credit. An industry-specific credit report score allows lenders in the various industries to better assess certain factors in your credit file.

To obtain the free credit report that you are entitled to under federal law, you must go to www.annualcreditreport.com. At this website address, you can get your credit report from all three credit reporting agencies - Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion - once every 12 months. For daily monitoring, use safecreditscore.com Credit Monitoring. Our service makes your personal report available online 24/7. If any irregular account activity is detected, we'll notify you promptly.

In general, creditors forward information to the credit reporting agencies monthly. The day of the month that each individual creditor sends updates varies. This is why it's important to have access to your credit report every day.

Credit monitoring is a service that continuously monitors your credit report for changes. Changes could include missed payments, new inquiries or new accounts. safecreditscore.com offers credit alerts in our member portal should there be any new activity to your credit file. It is also an important tool for fighting identity theft.

Credit inquiries are requests made by primarily financial companies to gauge your credit worthiness. The most common types of inquiries are made when you are applying for a credit card, auto or home loan, or looking to secure a new apartment. Inquiries can only be made with your authorization.

By enrolling in safecreditscore.com, you receive unlimited access to your credit report and score. You also receive 24/7 credit monitoring.

Once you have completed the enrollment process, you will be automatically directed to our member dashboard. From the member dashboard, you can easily navigate between the different benefits by using the tabs near the top of the page.

Once you have logged in to the member dashboard, there is a tab at the top of the page for credit alerts. You can click that tab and it will display any alerts you have received.

The action you need to take will depend on what the credit alert is about. For example, you could receive an alert that there was a new inquiry on your report. If you recently applied for credit, that would explain the inquiry, however if it was not you, you should take action by calling the company listed on the inquiry.