July 12th, 2009 9:15 AM

If you watch any TV, you can't have missed the commercials for freecreditreport.com.

And if you spend much time on You Tube or Facebook, you probably know that the "band" that performs in the ads has a blog, a Facebook account, T-shirts and a following on You Tube where fans post e-mail pleading with them to make a CD. My son sings their "songs" around the house. A friend professes to liking the bass player.

The ads, I admit, are fun -- at least on the first few dozen hearings. The band is personable, and I get the attraction -- though you can hear better singers and musicians most nights in local clubs. But somehow ignored, if not lost, in the hype is this fact: Those credit reports aren't free.

Remember, if you need a credit report, you get one a year that is truly free from either www.equifax.com or www.transunion.com.

Article from News Observer July 12

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