NORFOLK – Buyer beware.  A popular Website ad where you can get your credit report comes with strings attached.

College student and 13News intern Melissa Arbogast thought free meant free when she accessed Free Credit Report Website to see her credit reports. She entered her credit card number to get her credit score.

Later, she noticed a charge to her credit card.

“I didn't think they'd automatically start billing me,” she said. “I thought they'd give me some warning.”

Video: Buyer beware when surfing credit report Websites

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There is some warning – in the TV ads and on the Website – that the free offer applies with enrollment in Triple Advantage, a credit monitoring service that costs you $15 a month.

You are given an 800 number and 48 hours to cancel the credit monitoring service. Otherwise, you’ll be billed.

“It's a very fine print and that's why I think we have to be careful of reading all documents and be careful of the fine print,” says Holly Cuellar with the Virginia Attorney General’s office.

The AG’s office says there is a completely free, no strings attached Website that anyone can access to checking their score.

Since 2005, the federal government has made it possible to check your scores once a year at a site called Annual Credit Report.

“You have the opportunity to do it online and fill out your info or you can mail it in,” stresses Cuellar.

You do need to be careful with your spelling.  Typing credit with two Ds sends you to Free Credit Report’s site. 

The government’s site allows you to check your credit on any or all of the three major credit reporting agencies once a year and again, the government site is free.

The credit score, based on your credit use history, affects your ability to get a mortgage, a low interest rate on a credit card and more. The higher the score, the better rates you get.