Fraud alerts and credit reports, what are the benefits?

by Amy Johnson writer Identity theft and credit fraud continues to be a widespread issue and is getting worse as technological advances are made. There really is no safe way to protect all of your personal information because eventually someone will figure out how to gain access to it. The only thing you can do is take the extra steps to keep your information safe and monitor your credit regularly.

Do a Credit Report Check

What is a credit report? A credit report is basically a report that shows your credit history, including your score, accompanied by a list of accounts that you have open/closed as well as your payments. Monitoring your credit regularly cannot be stressed enough! It is one of the easiest ways to see if fraudulent activity is occurring. Changes to your credit score should automatically alert you, but you will also be able to see if someone has applied for loans in your name or opened other accounts.

Identity Protection

It is important to have an identity protection strategy. It may sound silly, but this is your personal information, access to your credit cards, bank accounts, social security etcetera. Immense damage can be done and no one should ever know the feeling of having their identity stolen. There are some individuals out there that may never fully recover from the damage, this is a very serious issue. Unfortunately, there are many individuals who have fallen victim, but for those who have not, it is worth the extra effort to have a plan of action. There are programs that offer fraud alerts in real time. This does include text messaging and bank alerts – if you choose to utilize all the benefits of online banking. Changing passwords often and never giving out your PIN should be common knowledge but take a step further and remember to always log out of any accounts, wait the extra minute at the ATM to make sure it goes back to the start screen, and keep a password on your cell phone.

Fraud Alerts

Now, there are fraud alerts that were briefly mentioned above that will come from your financial institution or credit card lenders. Did you know that you, yourself, can place a fraud alert on your actual credit report? It is all right if you did not know how to put a fraud alert on your credit report, many people do not. If for some reason, you are worried about becoming a victim of identity theft/fraud or if you already have, you can place a 90 day fraud alert on your credit report. This can be renewed after the initial 90 days are past and can go on indefinitely.

A simple phone call to one of the major credit bureaus is all it takes to place a fraud alert. You explain your situation, and then from there, that credit bureau will contact the other two. It does not cost any money and will certainly relieve any worry that you have. This fraud alert can be placed for a total of seven years if you can furnish proper documentation from the authorities that you have been a victim of identity/credit fraud in the past. In addition to the protection, you will be provided two free credit reports from each bureau yearly.

What is a Fraud Alert on Your Credit Report?

A fraud alert on your credit report will alert lenders that they should be extra cautious when reviewing your information and their verification process. They will see that there is an alert from the credit bureaus and not be as quick to approve credit in your name. If it is you of course, with all the proper information, you will not have an issue but this is a great deterrent for others!

Understanding everything about your credit as well as getting your credit report and score checked is the first step, protecting all of that information is the next step. There are many options to assist you in doing so, but never hesitate to contact the credit bureaus themselves for some help and guidance, that is what they are there for.

Amy Johnson is an active finance blogger who is fond of sharing interesting finance management tips to encourage people to manage their personal finances. More specifically, she advocates that people should check credit reports and scores regularly.

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Created on Dec 31st 1969 18:00. Viewed 0 times.

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