To set up 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 provide your identifying information. Federal law requires the bureau you contact to notify the other two, so a single request places the alert on all three reports. Online and phone submissions usually activate the same day and take about ten minutes.
What You’ll Need Before You Start
For an initial or active duty alert, gather the following before you begin:
- Full legal name and Social Security number
- Date of birth
- Current and previous mailing addresses from the past two years
- A phone number where lenders can reach you to verify credit applications
If you submit by mail, some bureaus also ask for a copy of a government-issued ID and a recent utility bill or bank statement to confirm your address.
For an extended fraud alert, you’ll also need an identity theft report. The simplest way to get one is at IdentityTheft.gov, where you answer questions about what happened and the site generates an FTC Identity Theft Report along with a recovery plan. A police report from your local law enforcement agency works too.
How to Place the Alert
Contact only one bureau. Whichever one you reach is required to pass the request on to the other two, and those bureaus must then place the same alert on your file.
Online
Each bureau runs a security portal that lets you place an initial or active duty alert in real time. Enter your information and submit; activation is usually same-day. TransUnion states the alert appears on your report the day you place it.
- Equifax: equifax.com/personal/credit-report-services/credit-fraud-alerts
- Experian: experian.com/help/fraud-alert
- TransUnion: transunion.com/fraud-alerts
By Phone
Automated systems walk you through entering your information on the keypad. Stay on the line until you hear verbal confirmation that the alert has been placed.
- Equifax: 888-836-6351
- Experian: 888-397-3742
- TransUnion: 800-680-7289
By Mail
Download the fraud alert request form from the bureau’s website, complete it, and mail it with any required documentation. Certified mail with return receipt gives you proof of delivery. Mail is the slowest option, but it’s required for extended fraud alerts at some bureaus because you have to include your identity theft report.
- Equifax: P.O. Box 740256, Atlanta, GA 30374
- Experian: P.O. Box 9554, Allen, TX 75013
- TransUnion: P.O. Box 2000, Chester, PA 19016
Which Type of Alert to Choose
Federal law creates three types, and which one you can use depends on your situation.
Initial Fraud Alert
Anyone who suspects they’ve been or may become a victim of fraud or identity theft can place one. It lasts one year, can be renewed any number of times, and requires no documentation beyond identity verification. Placing it also entitles you to one free credit report from each bureau.
Extended Fraud Alert
This one lasts seven years and is available to people who have already experienced identity theft. You need to submit an identity theft report — either the FTC report from IdentityTheft.gov or a police report. An extended alert also removes you from prescreened credit and insurance offer mailing lists for five years and entitles you to two free credit reports per bureau during each twelve-month period after placement.
Active Duty Military Alert
Active duty service members can place a one-year alert that works like the initial alert and can be renewed. It also removes you from prescreened offer lists for two years. A service member can designate a personal representative, such as a spouse, to manage or remove the alert during deployment.
What Happens After You Place It
Once the alert is on your file, businesses that receive a credit application in your name are supposed to take reasonable steps to confirm your identity before approving the account. In practice, that usually means a lender calling the phone number you provided. The alert doesn’t block anyone from seeing your report and doesn’t stop all new accounts from being opened; it adds a verification step. It has no effect on your credit score.
Placing an alert also triggers extra free credit report rights beyond the standard annual report at AnnualCreditReport.com. An initial alert gets you one additional report from each bureau over the next twelve months; an extended alert gets you two per bureau per year for the duration. Pulling those reports soon after placing your alert is how you’ll catch accounts or inquiries you don’t recognize.
An initial alert expires after a year and doesn’t renew automatically. If you still want the protection, place a new one the same way. An extended alert expires after seven years, and renewing it means resubmitting your identity theft report or police report. To remove an alert early, contact the bureau directly and verify your identity; only the person who placed the alert or an authorized representative can take it off.
Fraud Alert vs. Credit Freeze
These are different tools and often confused. A fraud alert leaves your credit report accessible to lenders but asks them to verify your identity first. You can keep applying for credit normally; approvals may just take a little longer. A credit freeze locks the report entirely, so no one — including you — can open new accounts until you lift or temporarily thaw the freeze with a PIN or password.
Both are free. One practical difference matters when you’re deciding: a fraud alert placed at one bureau covers all three automatically, while a credit freeze has to be placed separately at each bureau.
If a Lender Ignores Your Alert
Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, businesses that see a fraud alert on a credit application are legally required to take reasonable steps to verify the applicant’s identity. If a creditor approves a fraudulent account without doing that, you can file a complaint with the FTC or the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and you can sue the creditor under the FCRA for willful or negligent noncompliance. Government enforcement actions can carry penalties of nearly $5,000 per violation. Smaller creditors and store cards sometimes still cut corners, so check your credit reports regularly even after the alert is in place.