How Can I Check to See If My Fraud Alert Is Still Active?

Individuals who have been victimized by identity theft need to protect their credit information. If you have been victimized, you can place two different kinds of fraud alert on your credit reports. You need only contact one credit bureau. That company is required to contact the other two credit bureaus to place fraud alerts on the credit reports they maintain on you.

Instructions

1

Contact the credit bureaus. Call Equifax at 800-525-6285 (equifax.com), Experian at 888-397-3742 (experian.com) and TransUnion at 800-680-7289 (transunion.com). An initial fraud alert is active for 90 days. This alert requires each credit bureau to contact you before a credit history in your name is provided to an identity thief. Request the initial 90-day alert when your wallet or purse have been stolen or lost, or if you have been victimized by a phishing scam.

2

Request an extended fraud alert, which is good for seven years, once you know you have been victimized by identity theft. To change the initial fraud alert to an extended alert, provide the credit bureau with an identity theft report.

3

Include a copy of a police report and proof of your identity at the time you request an extended fraud alert.

4

Keep copies of your police report and identity theft report in your records. If you need to request another extension when the seven-year mark for your extended fraud alert gets near, having this documentation handy will be a help.