The American Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACTA) defines a credit score as, "A numerical value or categorization derived from a statistical tool or modeling system used by a person who makes or arranges a loan to predict the likelihood of certain credit behaviors, including default (and the numerical value or the categorization derived from such analysis may also be referred to as a 'risk predictor' or 'risk score.'" MyFICO.com is the only legitimate source for obtaining a free credit score. FACTA also makes provisions for consumers to receive one free credit report per year from each of the three credit reporting bureaus.
MyFICO
A company named Fair Isaac developed the FICO credit-scoring model in the 1960s. MyFICO is the consumer division of this company, and also the only source from which you may receive your credit scores for free. However, to receive your free credit score, you must provide a credit card number and sign up for a free trial offer for myFICO's Score Watch service. If you do not cancel your subscription within a certain number of business days, the company will charge you.
AnnualCreditReport.com
American citizens are entitled by law, per FACTA, to obtain a free copy of their credit report once per year. AnnualCreditReport.com is the only centralized website FACTA sanctions for obtaining this information. Your free annual credit report contains a variety of information that may impact your overall credit score. However, credit reports do not list your credit score. Law requires the three main credit reporting bureaus in the United States to provide you with this information for a reasonable fee. However, no agreement exists as to what constitutes a "reasonable fee."
Credit Bureaus
Equifax, Experian and TransUnion (see Resources) are the three main credit bureaus in the United States. While AnnualCreditReport.com is the only source from which you can obtain free credit reports as per FACTA, you may also opt to go straight to the credit bureaus and request information from each. You may request copies of your credit reports, for a fee, either online or through the mail. You may request each individual credit report from each of these three companies, or request all three from one. However, you will usually pay an extra fee for receiving all three together.
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