The Personal Information Section

The top of your report lists names you have used, addresses, employers, and sometimes a Social Security number and date of birth. It identifies the file as yours; it does not affect any score.

Why it matters

Wrong data here is not cosmetic. An address you never lived at or a name variation you never used can signal a mixed file - someone else's accounts merged into yours - or identity theft.

Key facts

• Name and address variations come from past credit applications; typos there land here.
• Employment info is self-reported on applications and is not verified or scored.
• An unknown address or name is a red flag worth a dispute and a fraud check.
• This section has zero scoring impact, but it is where mixed files usually show first.
• Your Social Security number is partially masked on most reports you pull yourself.

In practice

1. Read every name, address, and employer line; circle anything unfamiliar.
2. Dispute wrong identifiers with each bureau showing them; ask for deletion, not correction, of addresses that were never yours.
3. If you find an unknown address, check the accounts section immediately for accounts that are not yours.