The three major credit bureaus in the United States are Equifax (based in Atlanta), Experian (based in Costa Mesa, California), and TransUnion (based in Chicago). There are many credit monitoring services that help you escape being a victim of fraud by alerting you to minor changes in your credit on a daily or weekly basis by checking credit bureau reports.

The three credit bureaus differ in their credit score determination processes based on information retrieval and information reporting. The three major credit reporting agencies determine their own FICO (Fair Isaac & Co. Credit Scoring) scores. But do each of the agencies give the scores a different name? Equifax calls it the Beacon credit score, Experian calls it Experian/Fair, Isaac Risk Model, and TransUnion calls it Empirica.

Experion’s credit report includes a consumer’s financial behavior and identifying information. These reports can be obtained through your creditors, public records, and other reliable sources. TransUnion credit reports contain identifying information, items that may affect your creditworthiness, credit history or lines of business, and inquiries. But it doesn’t contain the details about medical records, business accounts, and major purchases that are paid in full.

Until recently, these three major credit bureaus had their own strategies and methodologies for building credit reports and classifying consumers’ creditworthiness. But now they have jointly adopted a new method called the VantageScore system, a standardized formula. Using this method, even though credit scores may still be different, it will be easier for consumers to understand the differences more easily than before. This will provide consumers and businesses with a consistent and highly predictive score. In general, in addition to preventing identity theft, a credit reporting system can greatly reduce the impact of your servicing efforts.