The beginning of a new year is an excellent time to pull a free copy of a credit report. The Fair Credit Reporting Act requires each of the nationwide consumer reporting credit bureaus--Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion--provide a free copy of a credit report, at an individual's request, once every 12 months.

A credit report includes information like where a person lives, how they pay their bills and if they've filed for bankruptcy.

An individual may also be able to guard against identity theft by periodically checking their credit report for any unusual or suspicious activity.

To order a free report, call (877) 322-8228 or visit annualcreditreport.com.

While there are other sites that claim to offer free credit reports or free credit scores, there is only one official annual free credit reporting program. If individual's try to pull this "free" report from a phony site, they may be left paying for a service or giving personal information to a scammer. Also, never click on a pop-up ad or a link through an email that claims to be from annualcreditreport.com or from one of the three nationwide reporting companies--these are most likely scams that are phishing for information. The real site, annualcreditreport.com, will never solicit for free annual credit report or reach out to individuals directly to ask personal information.

To order a report at annualcreditreport.com, individuals must provide their name, address, Social Security number and date of birth. If an individual has moved in the last two years, he or she may have to give their previous address. To maintain the security of the file, each nationwide consumer reporting company may ask an individual for information that only they would know, like the amount of their monthly mortgage payment.

For more consumer tips, go to bbb.org or call (800) 388-2222.