Question: Can just anyone obtain my credit report? 

Answer: Obtaining someone elses credit report without permission is a federal offense.  That said, it used to be as easy as knowing your SSN and birth-date.\n\nNowadays, it is a little more tough.  Online Credit agencies will ask several security questions that are not easy to answer.\n\nFor example, they might say something like:\n "Which of the following accounts did you close in 1999:"\n   "a) Sears"\n   "b) Home Depot"\n   "c) Chase"\n   "d) Citibank"\n\nThere are a series of these questions, whatever they know from your SSN, they can ask for, addresses, accounts, etc.\n\nNow, somebody like a spouse in an ongoing divorce can easily know all that information and obtain a credit report.  However, even this inquiry will show up on the credit report.  If you pull it yourself, you could see that someone else got it (not always easy to read).\n\nIn the case I mentioned of a spouse in a divorce  it is hard to tell what the authorities would do.  It would likely not be investigated, and it depends on the state and judge.  If there was an order to respect the others privacy, it would at least be contempt of court.\n\nBut again:\n  - every time your credit-file is pulled, there is a entry made (stays for 3 months)\n  - it is a federal offense, if you think someone got it against your will, call the agency you got your report from and ask for an investigation.\n  - Last but not least, all your creditors are allowed to pull your credit on a regular basis
This question from the Yahoo Q&A forum is categorized in the topic: Society & Culture