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If you think or suspect you are a victim of identity theft, or you know you are a victim of identity theft, you should place a fraud alert on your credit reports at all 3 bureaus, namely Equifax, TransUnion and Experian. Generally a fraud alert includes a note on your credit report to the lender to call you before new accounts can be opened.
Note, you may even want to put a credit freeze on your reports to be even more safe about preventing further damage to your credit.
Fraud alerts primarily come in two varieties:
- I. Initial Fraud Alerts - up to 90 days
- II. Extended Fraud Alerts - up to 7 years
Note there is also a third variety, not really fraud alert, but more of a warning, which are active duty military alerts. These may be placed for up to 1 year.
I. To place an initial fraud alert, you contact one of the 3 credit bureaus to place the alert. By contacting one of the three bureaus, that bureau will contact the other two without your having to contact them yourself. You can contact the bureau online, by phone, or by mail.
Online
http://www.equifax.com/answers/set-fraud-alerts/en_cp
https://www.experian.com/fraud/center.html
http://www.transunion.com/personal-credit/credit-disputes/fraud-alerts.page
By phone or mail:
| Equifax P.O. Box 740256 Atlanta, GA 30374 1.800.525.6285 | Experian | Trans Union P.O. Box 6790 Fullerton, CA 92834 1.800.680.7289 |
II. To place an Extended Fraud Alert, you must request the alert in writing. Equifax accepts the information by fax. Using the bureau request form may expedite matters somewhat. The bureau request forms also point out the supporting documents you must send with your request for an extended alert, including copies of identification documents and a copy your identity theft report filed with the police.
Equifax
P.O. Box 105069
Atlanta, GA 30348
Fax: 888-826-0597Equifax form may be printed online: https://www.alerts.equifax.com/AutoFraud_Online/jsp/fraudAlert.jsp
Experian
P.O. Box 9554
Allen, TX 75013Experian form may be printed online: https://www.experian.com/fraud/center.html
Trans Union
P.O. Box 6790
Fullerton, CA 92834TransUnion form may be printed online: https://fraud.transunion.com/pdf/ExtendedAlertForm.pdf
Now before you file your Fraud Alert, take a look at these frequently asked questions:
Q. Do I need to place my Initial Fraud Alert at all three credit bureaus?
A. No, if you place your initial fraud alert at one bureau, it will notify the other two bureaus with the initial fraud alert information, such that you will end up with fraud alerts at all three bureaus.
Q. If I file an Extended Fraud Alert at just one of the 3 bureaus, will the extended fraud alert be placed at all 3 bureaus?
A. No. You should place your extended fraud alerts at all three bureaus directly and follow the instructions that they publish.
For Equifax, print and use their form at: https://www.alerts.equifax.com/AutoFraud_Online/jsp/fraudAlert.jsp
For Experian, print and use their form at: https://www.experian.com/fraud/center.html - Follow instructions on their form and use the address on form.
For TransUnion, print and use their form at: https://fraud.transunion.com/pdf/ExtendedAlertForm.pdf
Q. How do I remove a fraud alert?
A. To remove your fraud alert before its expiration date, you should send the removal request in writing to each credit bureau. However, TransUnion allows you to remove fraud alerts online once you have an account login.
For Equifax, write to Customer Service - Equifax Information Services LLC, PO Box 105069, Atlanta, GA 30348-5069
(for Equifax be sure to include your name, social security number, current and previous addresses, date of birth, and telephone number.)For Experian, print and use their form at: https://www.experian.com/fraud/center.html - Follow instructions on their form and use the address on form.
For TransUnion, use their online method at: https://fraud.transunion.com/fa/fraudAlert/landingPage.jsp
Or write: TransUnion Fraud victim Assistance Dept., PO Box 2000, Chester, PA 19022. (for TransUnion, be sure to include your name, social security number, current and previous addresses, date of birth, and telephone number.)
Q. What are Active Duty Alerts?
A. These are for active duty members of the military to put alerts on their credit reports that they are serving on active duty in the military. The alerts are for up to one year. The mechanism for placing the alerts are virtually identical to placing an Initial Fraud Alert explained above, so use the methods above for placing Initial Fraud Alerts.
Q. Can I put a fraud alert on a deceased relative?
A. Best information is to mail a copy of the death certificate to each of the 3 bureaus with a letter explaining the situation. Of course it will be helpful if you can supply sufficient identifying information including the SSN of the deceased if you have it.
Q. Can I place a fraud alert on a child or minor.
A. Theoretically minors do not have credit reports until they are at least 18. So bureaus will not provide credit reports ordered when the date of birth shows the applicant is less than 18 years old. So the inference is that if your child has a credit report, their birth date may be inaccurate at the credit bureau, so your best course of action is to supply the bureau with a copy of the child's birth certificate and social security number proof so the bureau associates the SSN with an underage person. Additionally a letter could be written to each bureau explaining the situation.
Additionally TransUnion has a special online inquiry used in child identity theft situations at: https://www.transunion.com/personal-credit/credit-disputes/fraud-victim-resources/child-identity-theft-inquiry-form.page
Page authored by: Charles R. Burnett at CreditReporting.com
