How to Place Fraud Alert on Credit Report

A fraud alert is a notice you add to your credit file at the nationwide credit reporting companies. It tells a lender or other user of the report that you may be a victim of fraud and that it should take reasonable steps to verify your identity, for example by contacting you at a phone number you supply, before extending credit in your name. Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, a fraud alert is free. It differs from a security freeze, which restricts access to your report outright rather than adding a verification step.

To place one, you contact any one of the three nationwide credit reporting companies. By law, the company you contact must forward your request to the other two, so a single request reaches all three files. Requests can be made by phone, by mail, or through an online form. The companies require identifying information, such as your full name, current and prior addresses, Social Security number, date of birth, and a copy of a government-issued identification document. Keep records of what you sent and when.

There are three main types. The initial fraud alert lasts one year and requires only that you suspect fraud or identity theft. An extended fraud alert lasts seven years and requires an identity theft report, which generally means a report filed with a law enforcement agency, such as a police report, plus a completed affidavit. An active-duty alert is available to service members who are away from their usual duty station and lasts one year. Whichever type applies, the alert stays on your file until it expires or you ask to remove it.

While an alert is active, you are entitled to an additional free file disclosure from each nationwide credit reporting company, and your name is left off prescreened credit and insurance solicitation lists for five years unless you ask to be included. An initial alert can be renewed when it expires by submitting a new request. You can also remove an alert at any time by contacting the credit reporting companies. For documenting identity theft and assembling a recovery plan, IdentityTheft.gov, operated by the Federal Trade Commission, provides a guided process.