Plenty of businesses sell things you could get for nothing — because a federal law or a government program already hands them out.
Credit reports. Credit freezes. Tax help. Unclaimed money. Even a replacement Social Security card. Each one has a free official version, and each one has an industry built next to it, charging for the same thing.
The business model is simple: It counts on you not knowing the free version exists. Then these companies pay to rank higher in search results, use official-sounding names and take a fee or a cut.
In 35-plus years of consumer reporting, I’ve watched companies invent endless ways to separate people from their money. This one is among the easiest to beat. Here are six, the free source for each, and the tell that you’ve landed on a paid look-alike.
1. Your credit reports
Federal law requires Equifax, Experian and TransUnion to each give you a free credit report every 12 months if you ask. The three bureaus went further and made free weekly reports permanent, according to the Federal Trade Commission.
There’s exactly one website authorized to fill those orders: AnnualCreditReport.com. Not a site with a similar name. That one.
Yet plenty of sites promise free reports, free scores or free monitoring. The FTC warns that some use web addresses deliberately misspelled to look like the real thing, and some pass you along to other sites that want to sell you something.
The tell: If the web address isn’t spelled exactly annualcreditreport.com, or the “free” report comes bundled with a sales pitch, back out.
2. Credit freezes
A credit freeze stops anyone, including you, from opening new credit in your name until you lift it, according to the FTC.
Some states used to allow a fee. Since September 2018, federal law has made it free nationwide, the FTC announced when the law took effect.
Placing a freeze costs nothing, lifting it costs nothing, and it won’t touch your credit score, the FTC says. The same 2018 law lets parents freeze the credit of kids under 16 for free.
The catch is legwork, not money. You have to contact all three bureaus separately. This guide, “How to Freeze Your Credit for Free and Stop Hackers Cold,” walks you through it.
The tell: Anyone asking you to pay to freeze your credit. Go to Equifax, Experian and TransUnion directly.
3. Tax preparation
If you pay a preparer or buy tax software, you may be paying for a return you could have filed free. The IRS runs two volunteer programs, and the volunteers are IRS-certified, often retirees.
The Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program, or VITA, serves people who generally make about $70,244 or less, along with people with disabilities and those who speak limited English. That’s not a hard cap. The IRS doesn’t set one, though individual sites may, according to the IRS.
Tax Counseling for the Elderly, or TCE, offers the same kind of free help with a focus on people 60 and older.
If you’d rather do it yourself, IRS Free File offers guided software at no charge. The IRS says your adjusted gross income must be $89,000 or less to qualify, and that figure can change annually. Earn more, and Free File Fillable Forms are still an option.
The tell: Starting at a company’s homepage or a search ad. Start at IRS.gov/freefile instead, so you know you’re getting the free version.
One thing before we keep going — the financial world is louder and dumber than ever. Hot takes everywhere. Almost none of it is worth your time. I’ve spent 35+ years cutting through the noise so you don’t have to. Sign up for the free Money Talks Newsletter — 10 seconds, no spam, just the stuff that matters.
4. Finding unclaimed money
Your state may be holding money you forgot about. Getting it back through your own state’s program costs nothing to search or to claim, according to the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators. Its MissingMoney.com site searches every state at once, also free.
Then there are “finders.” They locate your money and charge for it, usually a percentage of what they find. Some states cap that fee, and many require finders to register. Using one is optional.
Several times over the years, I’ve gotten letters that say some company has found money belonging to me, and it’ll reunite me with it for a fee. That tells me I’ve got missing money, so what I do is ignore the notice and go to MissingMoney.com and recover it for nothing.
The tell: A letter or call about money you’re owed, followed by a contract promising someone a percentage. Search your state’s site yourself first.
5. Lost 401(k)s and pensions
Change jobs a few times and it’s easy to lose track of a retirement account. The Department of Labor built a free fix: the Retirement Savings Lost and Found, created under the 2022 SECURE 2.0 law.
It searches for plans sponsored by private employers and unions that are linked to your Social Security number. You’ll verify your identity through Login.gov. More on how it works is in “The Free Tool That Can Help You Find a Lost or Forgotten 401(k) or Pension.”
The department doesn’t charge to recover your money. It also says not to pay anyone who claims they can recover funds on its behalf.
The tell: Anyone who says they work with the DOL and wants a fee. That’s not how this works.
6. A new or replacement Social Security card
This one costs exactly zero. The Social Security Administration issues new and replacement cards free, and plenty of websites charge for “help” with the paperwork anyway.
You aren’t required to use any of them, the agency’s inspector general warns. Set up a “my Social Security” account at ssa.gov/myaccount. Depending on your situation, you may be able to request a replacement card online.
The tell: Any site that isn’t ssa.gov asking for a payment for a Social Security card.
The bottom line
Not every paid service is a rip-off, and some people really do value the hand-holding. But you should choose to pay, not end up paying because nobody mentioned the free option.
One bonus tip: If you’re shopping for Medicare coverage, your State Health Insurance Assistance Program, or SHIP, offers free personalized counseling and isn’t connected to any insurance company, according to Medicare.gov. Find yours at ShipHelp.org.
The pattern repeats. The official version comes from a government agency or an official program, and the paid version sits right next to it in your search results. Before you pay for anything that sounds official, spend two minutes checking whether Washington already gives it away.
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