FAKKO

FAKKO (as in Fake-O) is an un-official term that refers to “non-real” FICO scores purchased anywhere but myFico.com.

myFICO.com is the ONLY place that sell real FICO scores to consumers. If you’ve purchased a credit score from anywhere but myFico, then it’s not a real FICO score. FAKKO (sometimes spelled FAKO or FACO) refers to any credit score that claims to be a real FICO but in fact is not. Another term used by the industry for these scores is “educational scores”.

Many credit score monitoring services claim to sell consumers “Real FICO” scores, while what their actually selling is their own private score, which is anything but Fico.

These FAKKO scores do not reflect your real Fico. They can be off by more than 100 points, and are not well correlated. This makes them practically worthless, or even worse – misleading.

Even if you purchase your real FICO score from myFico, it probably won’t be the same score potential lenders see in their systems. Car Dealers and Mortgage Companies use special versions of FICO that aren’t not available to consumers (See Understanding Fico Scores for more information).

The above should not deter you from using a FAKKO score. Educational scores can be a powerful tool for understanding and improving your credit profile and score. As long as you understand the limitation of these scores there’s no reason not to use any free service that offers them.