I make it a point to do the three important tasks below once a year. Now, you need to do the same. Sure, it’s a few more items on your to-do list, but you’ll feel good knowing it’s done. 

We’re giving away a brand-new iPhone 16. Enter to win here.

1. Pull your credit report

With all the data breaches, hacks and new scam tricks, this is a must. You can often spot issues on your credit report that you might miss otherwise.

HOSPITALS FACING UNPRECEDENTED THREATS; YOU MUST SECURE YOUR HEALTH RECORDS TODAY

The three credit reporting agencies (TransUnion, Experian and Equifax) are required by law to provide you with one free credit report a year. Sweet. There are a few ways you can request a copy of yours from each agency:

FYI, online is the fastest route. If you submit a request via phone or mail, expect to wait two weeks after the paperwork is received.

2. Look at your medical data, too

There’s another type of credit report to pay attention to: A secret “health credit report” used mainly by life insurance companies to determine how big of a risk you are.

These reports can contain mistakes, just like your financial credit reports. It’s a good idea to review them from time to time and make sure everything is on the up and up. The good news is you have the right to see your health credit report whenever you’d like.

AI EXPERT: CHATGPT PROMPTS YOU’LL WISH YOU KNEW SOONER

Start with Milliman IntelliScript

They have prescription info about you if you’ve authorized the release of your medical records to an insurance company and that company requests a report. To request a copy of your report, call 877-211-4816. Expect to share your:

• Full name
• Mailing address (and email address if you’d like to receive your report via email)
• Your phone number (in case the company needs to call you with questions)
• Date of birth
• Last four digits of your Social Security number
• Insurance company

Tim, 38, looks through his medical records in his apartment in Chicago, Illinois on Thursday, May 16, 2024. (Getty Images)

Next is ExamOne

ExamOne is a Quest Diagnostics company. They help determine how big of a health risk you are based on lab tests conducted over the years. To contact ExamOne and get your report, call 844-225-8047.

Finally, there’s MIB Group

The company formerly known as the Medical Information Bureau tracks everyone who applies for individually underwritten life, health or disability income insurance during the previous seven years. To get a look at what’s in your MIB report, call 866-692-6901.

HOW TO SCORE CHEAP STUFF (TO KEEP OR RESELL)

FYI, some of these reports could take up a while to receive so plan ahead. They are free so it won’t cost you anything to check them out. I’d recommend looking at them even if you’re not applying for life insurance just to make sure there are no mistakes.

3. Check into your car

Tens of millions of vehicles on the road have open recalls. Best case, they’re small annoyances. Worst case, you shouldn’t be driving it.

Your car’s manufacturer should reach out if there’s a serious recall, but there are all sorts of reasons that might not happen. Do it yourself:

• Step 1: Find your 17-digit Vehicle Identification Number. Stand outside the front windshield and look down at the lower driver’s side corner of the dashboard. Some cars also have it printed on the driver-side door jamb.
• Step 2: Use the NHTSA recall checkup tool. Visit the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) recall lookup page. Enter your VIN into the search field, and the results will show the number and type of safety recalls that apply to your specific vehicle.
• Step 3: Update your registration. Keep your registration up to date and ensure your current address is on file so your car’s manufacturer can reach you.

A 2017 Chevrolet Bolt electric vehicle (EV) outside a home in Gilbert, Arizona, U.S. on Tuesday, Aug. 31, 2021.  (Caitlin OHara/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

What to do if your vehicle is part of a recall

Recall service work is generally done at your car dealership. Give them a call to schedule an appointment. Having the recall number is handy, but they can also look up recall information through their records.

Recalls can be for potentially dangerous issues, so schedule service as soon as possible. Dealerships typically have shuttle services so you can drop off your car and have them pick you up when it’s ready. Your dealer can even arrange for your car to be towed if the recall is severe enough that you shouldn’t drive it.

And remember, the dealership will complete all repair work made on your car due to recall for free. That includes parts and software. Score!

Get tech-smarter on your schedule

Award-winning host Kim Komando is your secret weapon for navigating tech.

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The three entertainment companies had sought to create a new streaming service called Venu Sports that would launch this fall and charge $42.99 a month for access to networks across their portfolios, including ESPN, Fox Sports, and TNT. Bundling the sports content from all three companies would put other distributors like Fubo at “an extreme competitive disadvantage,” Fubo said at the time. DirecTV and Dish sided with Fubo in the case.

The deal also raised alarms for lawmakers like Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), and Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-TX), who recently asked federal enforcers to investigate. They warned the joint venture (JV) could put the companies “in a position to exercise monopoly power over televised sports” and effectively require competitors to negotiate with the JV companies “for access to over half of the major sporting licensing rights while simultaneously competing against these companies to offer the best product to broadcast or stream these programs.”

Southern District of New York Judge Margaret Garnett said Fubo would likely succeed on the merits in arguing the deal violates the Clayton Act, which governs mergers and acquisitions, and granted a preliminary injunction blocking it.

“Put simply, the antitrust problem presented by the JV is as follows: if the JV is allowed to launch, it will be the only option on the market for those television consumers who want to spend their money on multiple live sports channels they love to watch, but not on superfluous entertainment channels they do not,” Garnett wrote. “And the JV’s corporate owners—the JV Defendants—are the same players that (1) used their longstanding bundling practices to create the void in the pay TV market tailor-made for the live-sports-only JV to fill, and also (2) exercise near-monopolistic control over the ability for a different live-sports-only streaming service to exist and compete with the JV.”

Fubo co-founder and CEO David Gandler called the decision a victory for both Fubo and consumers. “This decision will help ensure that consumers have access to a more competitive marketplace with multiple sports streaming options,” he said in a statement. “But our fight continues. Fubo has said all along that we seek equal treatment from these media giants, and a level playing field in our industry. The proposed joint venture was only the latest example of anticompetitive practices that The Walt Disney Company, FOX Corp. and Warner Bros. Discovery have consistently engaged in for many years. We believe these practices monopolize the market, stifle competition and cheat consumers from deserved choice.”

Venu Sports did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Welcome to Fox News’ Artificial Intelligence newsletter with the latest AI technology advancements.

IN TODAY’S NEWSLETTER:

– ‘Gladiator II’ director Ridley Scott backtracks on AI after calling it a ‘technical hydrogen bomb’
– US, UK and Australia take next step in integrating AI defense systems
– Maria Bartiromo interviews lifelike artificial intelligence clone

ROLE REVERSAL: Ridley Scott is promising incredible action with “Gladiator II” and was apparently willing to use artificial intelligence to achieve his goal.

The rhino featured in Gladiator II (Paramount Pictures)

INTEGRATED: The latest technology integrating artificial intelligence (AI) with unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) in “contested environments” has passed the test following trials conducted by the U.S., U.K. and Australia’s military alliance, AUKUS, officials said Friday.

U.S. President Joe Biden, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak deliver remarks on the Australia – United Kingdom – U.S. (AUKUS) partnership, after a trilateral meeting, at Naval Base Point Loma in San Diego, California U.S. March 13, 2023. REUTERS/Leah Millis

BOT OR NOT?: Delphi co-founder and CEO Dara Ladjevardian designed an artificial intelligence clone of himself that told FOX Business host Maria Bartiromo all about itself.

FOX Business host Maria Bartiromo chats with Dara Ladjevardian (L) and his clone (R) on ‘Maria Bartiromo’s Wall Street.’ (FOX Business) (Fox Business)

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