When you place an active duty alert on your credit report, creditors must take reasonable steps to make sure the person making the request is actually you before opening an account, issuing an additional credit card on an existing account, or increasing the credit limit on your existing account. Members of the military – such as members of the Marines, Army, Navy, Air Force, and Coast Guard – have an additional option available to them: active duty alerts, which give service members protection while they are on active duty and assigned to service away from their usual duty station. Be mindful that a freeze doesn't prevent identity thieves from taking over existing accounts. You must contact each credit reporting company individually if you would like to place a security freeze with all three nationwide credit reporting companies.īecause most businesses will not open credit accounts without checking your credit report, a freeze can stop identity thieves from opening new accounts in your name. Unlike fraud alerts, if you place a security freeze with one credit reporting company, they will not notify the other credit reporting companies. The federal law requiring free security freezes does not apply to someone who requests your credit report for employment, tenant-screening, or insurance purposes. A security freeze, also called a credit freeze, stops new creditors from accessing your credit file and others from opening accounts in your name, until you lift the freeze. Under federal law, you can freeze and unfreeze your credit record for free at the three nationwide credit reporting companies – Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax. It requires that the creditor contact you in person or through the telephone number or other contact method you designate to verify whether you are the person making the credit request before extending new credit. When you place an extended fraud alert on your file, you're entitled to order two free copies of your credit report from each nationwide credit reporting company over a 12 month period.Īn extended alert is good for seven years. You can also place an extended alert on your credit report after your identity has been stolen and you file an identity theft report. These free reports do not count as your free annual report from each credit reporting company. When you place an initial fraud alert on your file, you're entitled to order one free copy of your credit report from each of the nationwide credit reporting companies. If you provide a telephone number, the lender must call you or take reasonable steps to verify whether you are the person making the credit request before granting the credit. When you place an initial fraud alert, creditors must take reasonable steps to make sure the person making a new credit request in your name is actually you before granting that request. You have the option to place another fraud alert at that time. After one year, the initial fraud alert will expire and be removed. Credit reporting companies will keep that alert on your file for one year. You can place an initial fraud alert on your credit report if you believe you are, or are about to become, a victim of fraud or identity theft.
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