How to Put a Fraud Alert on Your Credit Report

To put a fraud alert on your credit report, contact any one of the three national credit bureaus — Equifax, Experian, or TransUnion — online, by phone, or by mail, and request the alert. The bureau you contact is legally required to notify the other two, so a single request covers all three files. The service is free, takes about ten minutes, and the protection kicks in quickly.¹

Choose Which Type of Alert You Need

Federal law creates three fraud alert categories under 15 U.S.C. § 1681c-1, and all three are free.²

An initial fraud alert lasts at least one year. Request one if you believe you are or are about to become a victim of identity theft. No documentation beyond proof of your identity is required.
An extended fraud alert lasts seven years. It is available if you have already been victimized and can submit a valid identity theft report, such as one generated through the FTC’s IdentityTheft.gov portal or a police report. With this alert, you also get two free credit report copies during the following 12 months, which the bureau must deliver within three business days of your request.²
An active duty alert lasts at least 12 months. It is available to service members who want protection while deployed or otherwise unable to monitor their credit closely.

Contact One Bureau

Pick whichever bureau is most convenient. The legal duty to share the alert with the other two applies regardless of which one you contact first.¹

Equifax: equifax.com, 800-525-6285, or P.O. Box 105069, Atlanta, GA 30348.
Experian: experian.com, 888-397-3742, or P.O. Box 9554, Allen, TX 75013.³
TransUnion: transunion.com, 800-680-7289, or P.O. Box 2000, Chester, PA 19016.

Online requests walk you through identity verification and finish with a confirmation screen showing a reference number. Save that number. Phone submissions use an automated system that gives verbal confirmation once your identity is validated. Either method is usually processed within one business day. Mail requests take longer because the bureau needs to receive and verify your documents; send it certified so you have proof of delivery, and expect a written confirmation once the alert is live.

Information You Need to Provide

Every request requires basic personal identifiers so the bureau can match you to the right file:

Full legal name
Social Security number
Date of birth
Complete mailing addresses for the past two years

For written requests, bureaus also ask for copies of a government-issued ID such as a driver’s license and a utility bill or bank statement showing your current address.³ Enter everything exactly as it appears on your government documents. Even a small discrepancy between the name on your request and the name in the bureau’s file can cause the automated system to reject it.

An extended alert also requires a valid identity theft report. The easiest way to generate one is through the FTC’s portal at IdentityTheft.gov, where you answer questions about your situation and receive a report to give the bureaus. A police report also qualifies. Filing a false identity theft report with the FTC is a federal offense that can result in fines, imprisonment, or both.⁴

How Long the Alert Lasts and How to Renew or Remove It

Each alert type has a built-in expiration and drops off your file automatically. No action is needed on your part unless you want to renew.

An initial alert expires after one year. You can place a new one as soon as it lapses.
An active duty alert expires after 12 months and is renewable with a fresh request.
An extended alert expires after seven years. Renewing it requires a new identity theft report.

You can also remove an alert early. This requires contacting the bureau and going through an identity verification process, which may involve copies of your government-issued ID. The bureau needs to confirm you are the person requesting the removal, not someone trying to strip away your protection.³

Fraud Alert vs. Credit Freeze

These two protections are often confused. A fraud alert tells lenders to verify your identity before opening new credit, but it does not block access to your credit report. Lenders can still pull your file; they just see a flag telling them to take extra verification steps. A credit freeze locks your credit report so that most lenders cannot access it at all.¹

Both are free. A fraud alert is easier to manage because you contact one bureau and it spreads to all three. A freeze requires contacting each bureau separately and temporarily lifting it every time you want a lender to check your credit. Lifting a freeze placed online or by phone must happen within one hour; by mail it takes up to three business days.⁵ If you are actively applying for a mortgage or auto loan, the alert is the less disruptive option. You can use both at the same time.

An alert does not affect your credit score. It adds no negative information, and scoring models do not factor in its presence.⁶ The verification step can slow down credit applications, though. A lender who sees the alert is supposed to contact you at the phone number you provided before approving anything, so if you are unreachable, approval may be delayed or denied.

Cover Bank and Utility Accounts Too

The three national credit bureaus cover most lending activity, but they are not the only consumer reporting agencies that matter. A thief can also open bank accounts or utility services in your name, and two specialized agencies track those records.

ChexSystems reports on checking and savings account history, and banks check it before opening new deposit accounts. You can place a security alert online through the ChexSystems consumer portal, by phone at 888-478-6536, or by mail to Chex Systems, Inc., Attn: Consumer Relations, P.O. Box 583399, Minneapolis, MN 55458. A standard alert lasts one year; with a notarized identity theft affidavit, it lasts seven years.⁷

The National Consumer Telecom and Utilities Exchange (NCTUE) tracks account history with phone, internet, and utility companies. Place an alert through nctueconsumerportal.com, by phone at 866-349-3233, or by mail to Exchange Service Center – NCTUE, P.O. Box 105398, Atlanta, GA 30348. Initial alerts last one year; extended alerts require an identity theft report and last seven years.⁸

If a Lender Ignores the Alert

The alert only works if lenders follow through on the verification step. When an initial or active duty alert is on your file, a lender must use reasonable procedures to confirm the identity of anyone applying for credit in your name. If you included a phone number for verification, the lender is supposed to call that number or take other reasonable steps to confirm you are the applicant before approving anything.⁹

If a lender or bureau ignores your alert and a fraudulent account gets opened, you have legal recourse under the Fair Credit Reporting Act. Willful noncompliance carries statutory damages of $100 to $1,000 per violation, plus any actual damages, and potentially punitive damages and attorney’s fees.¹⁰ Before going to court, file a complaint with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau at consumerfinance.gov or 855-411-2372. The CFPB forwards complaints to the company, which generally must respond within 15 days, or up to 60 days in more complex cases.¹¹

1
Federal Trade Commission. Credit Freezes and Fraud Alerts
2
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1681c-1 – Identity Theft Prevention; Fraud Alerts and Active Duty Alerts
3
Experian. Fraud Alert
4
IdentityTheft.gov. Identity Theft Report and Recovery Plan Information
5
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1681c-1 – Identity Theft Prevention; Fraud Alerts and Active Duty Alerts
6
Experian. How Do Fraud Alerts Affect Credit
7
ChexSystems. Place Security Alert
8
National Consumer Telecom & Utilities Exchange. Consumer
9
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC Chapter 41, Subchapter III – Credit Reporting Agencies – Section: 1681c-1
10
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1681n – Civil Liability for Willful Noncompliance
11
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Learn How the Complaint Process Works