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Call the toll-free fraud number of any one of the three major credit bureaus to place a fraud alert on their credit report. Fraud alerts can help prevent an identity thief from opening additional accounts in victims? names. As soon as the credit bureau confirms the fraud alert, the other two credit bureaus will automatically be notified to place fraud alerts, and all three credit reports will be sent to the victim free of charge.
There are two types of fraud alerts: an initial alert and extended alert.
An initial alert will stay on your credit report for at least 90 days. This alert is appropriate if your wallet has been stolen or if you have been a victim of a phishing scam. When an initial fraud alert is placed on your credit report, you become entitled to one free credit report from each of the three national consumer reporting agencies.
An extended fraud alert will stay on your credit report for seven years. An extended alert can be placed on your credit report if you have been a victim of identity theft. You will need to provide the consumer reporting company with an identity theft report. When an extended fraud alert is placed on your credit report you are entitled to two free credit reports within a 12 month period from each of the three national consumer reporting agencies. In addition, the consumer reporting agencies will remove your name from marketing lists for pre-screened credit offers for five years.
To place either of these alerts on your credit report, or to have them removed, you will be required to provide appropriate proof of your identity: that may include your Social Security number, name, address and other personal information requested by the consumer reporting company.
When an either alert has been placed on your credit report businesses must verify your identity before issuing you credit. As part of this verification process, the business may try to contact you directly.
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An identity theft report may have two parts:
- A report filed with local, state or federal law officials, FBI, US Postal Service, US Secret Service or the FTC. There is no federal law requiring a federal agency to take a report about identity theft; however, some state laws require local police departments to take reports.
- The consumer reporting agency may have policies that require additional information. They may ask you to provide information and/or documentation in addition to the report that has been filed with law enforcement authorities, which si intended to verify your identity theft. The consumer reporting agency must request this additional information within 15 days of receiving your law enforcement report. Once you have provided the information the consumer reporting agency and the information provider (the business that sent the information to the consumer reporting company) then have 15 more days to verify that your identity theft report contains all of the necessary data. The agency and information provider will have five days to review any information that you provide. If you give them any information after the 15-day deadline, they can reject your identity theft report as incomplete; you will have to resubmit your identity theft report with the correct information.
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