Mortgage lenders, auto insurers, wireless-service providers, and employers are just some of the businesses that use credit scores to gauge a customer's likelihood of making late payments or committing fraud.

Credit scores, which range from 300 to 850, are most commonly used by lenders to set interest rates.

Fair Isaac reports that 35 percent of a consumer's credit score is based on timely payments, while 30 percent is tied to balance-to-limit ratios, with consumers using 50 percent or more of their available credit recording lower scores. The remainder of a credit score is based on the length of the borrower's credit history, new accounts, and diversity of accounts.

Credit scoring formulas favor lengthy credit histories and consumers who have a mixture of credit cards and installment loans. Opening new accounts, however, can temporarily lower credit scores.

FACT ACT

• In accordance with the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act, U.S. citizens can obtain a free annual credit report via the Central Source at www.annualcreditreport.com. Credit reports will be available for instant viewing on the website.
• Reports can also be ordered by calling 1-877-322-8228 (1-877-FACT ACT).

By Federal law, one free credit report per year can also be obtained directly from a credit reporting agency if:

• You are unemployed and seeking employment in the next 60 days
• You are receiving public assistance
• You believe there are inaccuracies in your report due to fraud
• You have been denied credit on the basis of information in a credit report, in which case you are entitled to a free copy of the of your report from the credit bureau that supplied the credit report.

Contact information for the 3 major credit bureaus is as follows:

Equifax
P.O. Box 740241
Atlanta, GA 30374
1-800-658-111

Experian
P.O. Box 2002
Allen, TX 75013
1-888-397-3742

Trans Union
P.O. Box 1000
Chester, PA 19022
1-800-888-4213