Question: I got my free annual credit report so that I can fix errors. Can you tell me what I should look for?

Philip Tirone: For certain, consistently reviewing your credit report is the most important thing you can to do maintain and improve your credit score. For this reason, the three major credit bureaus offer a free annual credit report to anyone and everyone via the website www.annualcreditreport.com.

Pulling this free report once a year is critical. In fact, the biggest drain on your credit score could be something you would otherwise not know about: errors made by your creditor or the credit-scoring bureau. About 80 percent of all consumers have errors on their credit reports, which can come in the form of a serious error, or a small error with no affect on your score.

When you pull your free annual credit report, keep a lookout for duplicate information, misreported personal information, account information errors, and information that doesn’t belong to you (a telltale sign that you may be a victim of identity theft).

Review some of these commonly appearing errors so that you can prevent them from showing up on your credit report and lowering your score.

Duplicates. The most common and dangerous error that people find when they review their free annual credit report is duplicate collection notices, which doubles the considerable harm caused by a collection notice. This can occur when your account is sold by one creditor to another and is especially detrimental to your credit if it is listed multiple times with two years.

Personal information. You should immediately request a correction to your credit report if you see someone else’s Social Security number or name on your report or if detect any mistake with your Social Security number or a misspelling on your name. This could be a warning sign that you are a victim of identity fraud or that your report has been merged with somebody else’s, also a high-priority error. Errors such as the wrong address, an erroneous date of birth, or the incorrect employer listed on your record should not be considered extremely urgent unless you suspect identity theft.

Mistakes in your account information. These mistakes can also be a concern for you, including erroneously listed limits for your credit cards. A low credit limit can cause your utilization rate (the percentage of your debt measured against your credit limit) to jump, which in turn negatively impacts your credit score. Incorrect account numbers and missing account numbers should be considered low priority unless you are worried about identity theft or if the missing account will improve your credit score.

Information that doesn’t belong to you. You should be concerned if you see accounts that aren’t yours on your free annual credit report, especially if they happen to be collection notices or strange Social Security numbers. This can be a hallmark of identity theft and should be cleared up as soon as possible.

If your credit report has any major errors, especially those within the last two years, you should start to correct them as soon as possible. That said, correcting low- priority or minor errors may not boost your score enough to justify the time spent on them. For high-priority errors, contact the respective credit bureau with the corrections, making sure you have your account number and the mistaken item highlighted in your free annual credit report.

One thing to keep in mind is that your free annual credit report will not include your credit score; for information about obtaining this critical number, see our article about the credit score scale.