7 Things to Know About Fraud Alerts

Highlights:

• A fraud alert urges lenders and creditors to take steps to verify your identity.
• You only need to contact either Equifax^®, Experian^® or TransUnion^® to place a fraud alert. Then the NCRA will forward your fraud alert request to the other two.
• A police report or Federal Trade Commission Identity Theft Report will help you further. These allow you to get a seven year extended fraud alert.

When you've been a victim of identity theft, it's tough to know what to do first. A good first step is to request a fraud alert. A fraud alert is a notice on your credit reports. It signals to creditors and lenders that you may have been a victim of fraud. There are different types of fraud alerts you can place depending on your situation. All types of fraud alerts are free to request.

Interested to learn more? Here are seven things you might not know about fraud alerts.

1. Third parties must take steps to verify your identity with a fraud alert.

With an initial one-year fraud alert, credit grantors need to verify your identity. When you or someone else attempts to open an account in your name or make changes on an existing account, such as increasing the credit limit, the lender or creditor must take reasonable steps to confirm you are who you say you are. This can make it harder for an identity thief to open new accounts in your name.

2. An extended fraud alert is available if you've been a victim of ID theft.

An extended fraud alert is available if you've been a victim of ID theft. But, you must have completed an identity theft report. This includes a police report or a Federal Trade Commission Identity Theft Report. You'll need to provide a telephone number or other contact information. This allows the creditor to contact you to further verify your identity. An extended fraud alert on your credit reports lasts for seven years. It also removes your name from prescreened credit card and insurance offers for five years. To place an extended fraud alert, you can download this form to request an extended fraud alert by mail.

3. For service members, there is an active duty military alert.

Active duty alerts are available for service members on active military duty who want to help minimize their risk of fraud or identity theft while deployed. An active duty alert is similar to an initial fraud alert because it can make it harder for someone to open unauthorized accounts in your name. This type of alert lasts for one year. Service members can have a representative with a Power of Attorney add an active duty alert. It also removes your name from prescreened credit card and insurance offers for two years.

4. You can update or remove a fraud alert by phone or mail.

You need to remove or update contact information on a fraud alert with each NCRA. At Equifax, if you wish to update your information over the phone, we need to take steps to verify your identity. If we can't verify your identity, we will need further documentation sent to us by mail. If updating your information by mail, you need to follow the right steps. This includes sending a written request and the verification documents. Learn more about which documents are accepted.

5. You only need to contact one of the NCRAs to have a fraud alert placed on all three of your credit reports.

With fraud alerts, you only have to contact one of the three NCRAs. These NCRAs include Equifax, Experian or TransUnion. The NCRA you contact will pass the request on to the other two NCRAs.

6. Someone else is able to manage your fraud alert on your behalf.

A “personal representative” can add a fraud alert on your behalf. This person must have a Power of Attorney or court appointed document. They can add fraud alerts, delete them or update your contact information.

7. There are several resources that offer great information about fraud alerts.

The Federal Trade Commission^® (FTC^®) has a lot of information about fraud alerts online.

Requesting A Fraud Alert With Equifax

To place a fraud alert on your Equifax credit report, create a myEquifax™ account. You can also call Equifax at 888-378-4329 or download this form to request a fraud alert by mail.