Fraud alert

What It Means

A fraud alert is a notice added to your credit reportCredit reportA record of how you've borrowed and repaid, kept by credit bureaus and sold to lenders, landlords, insurers and others who decide whether to deal with you. See more that tells businesses to verify your identity before they open new credit in your name. You place it by contacting one of the three nationwide credit bureausCredit bureauA company that collects information about how people use credit and sells it as credit reports; Equifax, Experian and TransUnion are the three nationwide ones. See more, and that bureau must pass it to the other two. There are three kinds: an initial alert that lasts one year, an extended alert for identity theftIdentity theftWhen someone uses your name, account details or other personal information without permission to open accounts, make charges or commit other fraud. See more victims that lasts seven years, and an active duty alert for military members that lasts one year.

How People Say It

• "I put a fraud alert on after my wallet got stolen."
• "The bank called to confirm it was really me applying."
• "Do I need an extended alert or just the regular one?"

The Breakdown

What the rule says. Under the federal law that took effect in September 2018, an initial fraud alert lasts one year, according to the FTC. An extended fraud alert lasts seven years, and an active duty alert lasts one year. In each case you contact one of Equifax, Experian or TransUnion, and that bureau must tell the other two to add the alert.

Who it applies to

Documents needed

1. For an initial or active duty alert: the details the bureau asks for to confirm who you are.
2. An extended alert also needs an FTC identity theft report from IdentityTheft.gov, or a police report.

Official source. The FTC's "Credit FreezesCredit freezeA free block you place on your credit report at each bureau so lenders can't read it for a new application until you lift it; also called a security freeze. See more and Fraud Alerts" page and its 2018 announcement of yearlong fraud alerts, with IdentityTheft.gov for the extended alert.

Good to Know

A fraud alert and a credit freeze work differently. An alert leaves your report open to lenders but asks them to verify your identity first, while a freeze blocks new lenders from your report until you lift it, and a freeze must be placed at each bureau yourself. The FTC's page "Is a credit freeze or fraud alert right for you?" compares the two. If your identity has been used, IdentityTheft.gov walks you through the report that qualifies you for the seven-year alert.

Related Terms and Categories

• Credit freeze

  A free block you place on your credit report at each bureau so lenders can't read it for a new application until you lift it; also called a security freeze.

• Identity theft

  When someone uses your name, account details or other personal information without permission to open accounts, make charges or commit other fraud.

• Credit lock

  A bureau's own service that blocks access to your credit report, much like a freeze, but under the company's terms instead of federal freeze law, sometimes for a fee.

• Credit bureau

  A company that collects information about how people use credit and sells it as credit reports; Equifax, Experian and TransUnion are the three nationwide ones.

• Credit report

  A record of how you've borrowed and repaid, kept by credit bureaus and sold to lenders, landlords, insurers and others who decide whether to deal with you.

• Credit monitoring

  A service that watches your credit reports and alerts you to changes, such as a new account or inquiry; it warns you after the fact and doesn't prevent fraud.

Debt and credit