The credit bureau keeps record of an individual’s credit history. A credit bureau prepares an individual’s credit report that contains every payment detail for that individual. A credit report also contains an individual’s personal information such as the name, residential address, official address, etc.

CoreLogic and FICO partnered last year to offer lenders an alternative credit score for more predictive scoring, which includes data previously not used in credit scoring, from a borrowers cell phone bill, utilities, payday loan activity, to child support judgments, evictions, property tax liens, the status of homeowner’s association dues, whether or not a borrower is underwater on their current home, or whether a borrower owns other properties that credit agencies typically miss.

A credit bureau is an information clearinghouse that compiles information on consumers. The credit grantors, or lenders, report consumer payment history to the credit bureaus. The credit bureaus then compile that information together with information on tax liens, bankruptcies, and court judgments that is available in public records. In return, when consumers apply for credit, lenders can check credit reports to determine the creditworthiness of consumers.

A FICO Score is a brand of credit score — FICO stands for Fair Isaac Corporation and Fair Isaac is the company that developed the software program used by the credit bureaus to compile and calculate credit scores for U.S. consumers.

If you haven’t started playing the FICO game yet, here are 10 little-known credit cheats that will help you get to the next credit level. There’s one score that follows you around for life — your credit score!