Federal law says you may order a FREE credit report from each agency once a year.

[Iwillnevergiveup]

So if the requests are spaced out to each agency ever 4 months, you have a full year of coverage. (Experian, Equifax and TransUnion)

In these challenging economic times, it's good to find problems/errors early. Also, identity theft may be on the rise. My tax guy also told me some credit card issuers offer free credit monitoring for a few months in the event of identity theft or fraud.

[Zenlitened]

1. But... be sure you use the OFFICIAL free credit report website...

... which is https://www.annualcreditreport.com

Note this warning from the Federal Trade Commission:
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/credit/cre34.shtm

A Warning About “Imposter” Websites
Only one website is authorized to fill orders for the free annual credit report you are entitled to under law — annualcreditreport.com. Other websites that claim to offer “free credit reports,” “free credit scores,” or “free credit monitoring” are not part of the legally mandated free annual credit report program. In some cases, the “free” product comes with strings attached. For example, some sites sign you up for a supposedly “free” service that converts to one you have to pay for after a trial period. If you don’t cancel during the trial period, you may be unwittingly agreeing to let the company start charging fees to your credit card.

Some “imposter” sites use terms like “free report” in their names; others have URLs that purposely misspell annualcreditreport.com in the hope that you will mistype the name of the official site. Some of these “imposter” sites direct you to other sites that try to sell you something or collect your personal information.

Annualcreditreport.com and the nationwide consumer reporting companies will not send you an email asking for your personal information. If you get an email, see a pop-up ad, or get a phone call from someone claiming to be from annualcreditreport.com or any of the three nationwide consumer reporting companies, do not reply or click on any link in the message. It’s probably a scam. Forward any such email to the FTC at [e-mail].