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Credit-risk scores: These are the credit scores most of us know. The leading credit score, the FICO, was created by Fair Isaac and ranges from 300 to 850, with scores over 700 generally considered to be low risk.

Response score: This score predicts the likelihood a consumer will respond to an offer of credit, such as a new card or a balance transfer offer. Credit card issuers use response scores to decide whom to target and how to customize offers to appeal to particular consumers, said Chisoo Lyons, vice president for analytic research at Fair Isaac, which created the leading FICO credit score as well as many other scoring formulas.

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Application score: This score scoops up data from your credit application that’s not included in your credit scores, said Ulzheimer, who worked for Fair Isaac and for credit bureau Equifax before joining Credit.com. That data include how much you earn, how long you’ve lived at your current address and how long you’ve worked for your current employer. Application scores are typically used in combination with other scores, such as credit and bankruptcy scores, to determine whether to open the account, what rate to give and how much credit to extend.

Bankruptcy score: Credit scores typically predict the chance you’ll miss a payment in the next two years. Bankruptcy scores predict the likelihood you’ll throw in the towel on your debt entirely and file for Chapter 7 liquidation or a Chapter 13 repayment plan, said David Rubinger, spokesman for credit bureau Equifax, which produces the leading Bankruptcy Navigator Index or BNI. BNIs range from 1 to 300, with the higher the score, the lower the predicted risk. Most lenders use both credit scores and bankruptcy scores, Ulzheimer said, to help assess the risk that you won’t pay.

Revenue score: Lenders want to maximize the profitability of each account, and one way they do that is to gauge how much money each account is likely to generate.

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Attrition-risk score: Attrition risk refers to the likelihood a user will stop using a card, and attrition-risk scores are typically used in combination with other scores to determine what to do next if you look ready to bolt. If your account generates a lot of revenue and is deemed at low risk for default or bankruptcy, for example, the issuer might aggressively try to keep your business by jacking up your credit limit, lowering your rate and pelting you with convenience checks. If your account isn’t that profitable or is deemed risky, on the other hand, the issuer might just let you go.

Behavior score: Credit scores provide a snapshot of how a consumer is handling all of his or her credit accounts. Behavior scores, by contrast, typically focus on a single account (the one you have with that particular creditor) but take in a broad view. Does the user pay off her bills every month, carry a balance occasionally or frequently pay only the minimums on her cards? That information typically isn’t available on a credit report, but is contained in the issuer’s databases, along with other data that helps the score describe how she handles her account. A behavior score might be used in conjunction with other scores, such as credit or bankruptcy scores, to decide whether an overdue payment is an aberration (maybe he’s traveling?) or a sign of impending financial crisis (maybe we should call the consumer today and find out what’s going on).

Transaction score: These are the scores run each time you use your plastic to determine whether the transaction should be approved. Issuers are typically looking for signs the transaction might be fraudulent, but transaction data can be used in other ways as well (more on that in a minute).

Collection score: You’ve failed to pay for long enough that your card has been turned over to a collection agency. These agencies use collection scores to assess the likelihood that you’ll be able to pay them and sort their list of debtors accordingly. Collection agencies watch for all kinds of evidence that your financial situation may be improving, Ulzheimer said, from better credit scores to another collector’s account suddenly being reset to 0, indicating it’s been paid off.If, on the other hand, your credit is in the dumps or the amount involved is small, the collection agency may make minimal effort.

“Why spend time and effort to track you down if you’re not likely to pay?” Ulzheimer said. “Probably the most cost-effective (tactic) is to write you a letter, put it on your credit report and wait for you to call them.”