Patent attributes
A method and system to protect, manage and control access to credit reports by the consumer. The company provides a website for the consumer to lock his credit report from being viewed without authorization. The report may be accessed via a previously assigned ID number and password. For a merchant to obtain the credit report, the consumer must grant access. The system eliminates manual intervention with access codes to lock or grant access to the report. Response to requests to access a report is instantaneous with the correct access code. Before a consumer subscribes, his is challenged to prove his identity. The verification method is based on his using a credit card to pay for the service that has the same name as the person in which they are attempting to subscribe to the service as. Address verification is provided by the credit card company. A credit report is then pulled from each of the credit reporting agencies, and the data used to further challenge the consumer's identity. Once correct identity has been established, the consumer enters an access code that is stored and instructions transmitted to the credit reporting agencies. Instructions are sent to the credit reporting agencies requiring them to lock the consumer's credit report and assign an access code to the file for consumer access. The system gives the consumer total control in protecting credit information from theft or misuse.
