You also can find links to their websites at /CreditBureauContacts. The one that you contact must notify the other two. You can place a fraud alert or active duty alert by visiting any one of the three nationwide credit reporting agencies – Equifax, Experian or TransUnion. The active duty alert also gives you an added benefit: the credit reporting agencies will take your name off their marketing lists for prescreened credit card offers for two years (unless you ask them to add you back on). If you’re in the military, you’ll still have access to active duty alerts, which let you place a fraud alert for one year, renewable for the time you’re deployed. Fraud alerts will still be free and identity theft victims can still get an extended fraud alert for seven years. Starting September 21, 2018, when you place a fraud alert, it will last one year, instead of 90 days. If you want a free freeze guaranteed by federal law, then opt for a freeze, not a lock.Ī fraud alert tells businesses that check your credit that they should check with you before opening a new account. They work in a similar way, but locks may have monthly fees. You also can lift the freeze temporarily without a fee.ĭon’t confuse freezes with locks. If you make your request by mail, the agency must place or lift the freeze within three business days after it gets your request. If you request a lift of the freeze, the agency must lift it within one hour. If you request a freeze online or by phone, the agency must place the freeze within one business day. How will these freezes work? Contact all three of the nationwide credit reporting agencies – Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. And if you are someone’s guardian, conservator or have a valid power of attorney, you can get a free freeze for that person, too. You also can get a free freeze for your children who are under 16. Starting September 21, 2018, you can freeze and unfreeze your credit file for free. Security freezes, also known as credit freezes, restrict access to your credit file, making it harder for identity thieves to open new accounts in your name. The company that has provided the incorrect information must correct the error, and notify all of the consumer reporting companies to whom it provided the inaccurate information.Free credit freezes and year-long fraud alerts are here, starting September 21, 2018, thanks to a new federal law. Under the FCRA, companies must conduct – free of charge – a reasonable investigation of your dispute. If you find information in your consumer report that you believe is inaccurate or incomplete, you have the legal right to dispute the report’s content with the consumer reporting company and the company that shared the information to the reporting company, such as your lender. How to dispute the information in your report Inquiries from creditors who have requested your credit reports when you apply for credit.Some public information like bankruptcies.Information from debt collectors including unpaid medical debt that is greater than 180 days delinquent from date of service, and past-due debt from cable and phone bills.Information about your payment history as submitted by credit card companies, home and auto lenders (and leasing companies), and other creditors.Personal information, such as your name, date of birth, name(s) of loan co-applicants, as well as current and past residential addresses, phone numbers, and employer names.How to use this report Here's what's included in this report:
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