You can place a fraud alert on TransUnion for free in a few minutes by contacting TransUnion directly online, by phone, or by mail. Federal law requires TransUnion to forward the alert to Equifax and Experian, so one request covers all three bureaus. Once the alert is active, any business pulling your credit for a new account must take reasonable steps to verify your identity first, which usually means calling the phone number you gave when you placed the alert.1Consumer Advice. Credit Freezes and Fraud Alerts
How to Place the Alert With TransUnion
TransUnion gives you three ways to request a fraud alert.2TransUnion. Fraud Alerts – Place a Fraud Alert
- Online. Go to service.transunion.com, log in or create a free account, and follow the prompts. This is the fastest route.
- Phone. Call 800-916-8800 and use the automated system.
- Mail. Send a written request to the fraud alert mailing address listed on TransUnion’s Fraud Alert by Mail or Phone page at transunion.com/fraud-alerts.
What You Need to Have Ready
TransUnion has to match you to your file, so expect to provide your full name (including middle initial and any previous names), current and recent addresses, your full Social Security number, and your date of birth.3Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. 12 CFR 1022.123 – Appropriate Proof of Identity
You will also give a phone number. This one matters more than the rest. It is the number creditors are supposed to call before approving new credit in your name, so pick a line you actually answer.
What TransUnion Does After You Submit
TransUnion confirms the alert, then notifies Equifax and Experian to place matching alerts on their files. You do not need to contact the other two bureaus separately. Within a short time all three files should carry the flag.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1681c-1 – Identity Theft Prevention; Fraud Alerts and Active Duty Alerts
What the Alert Actually Does
A fraud alert is not a lock. It does not stop anyone from viewing your credit report, and it does not freeze your existing accounts. You can keep using your current credit cards and loans normally.
What changes is new credit. Any business that pulls your report for a new application has to take reasonable steps to verify the applicant is really you, which in practice means a verification call to the number on your alert. That applies whether the application comes in online, by phone, or in person. Expect a small delay on legitimate applications; that delay is the point, because it gives you a chance to intervene before a fraudulent account opens.1Consumer Advice. Credit Freezes and Fraud Alerts
Which of the Three Alert Types to Request
Federal law provides three fraud alerts, and the right one depends on your situation.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1681c-1 – Identity Theft Prevention; Fraud Alerts and Active Duty Alerts
- Initial fraud alert. Lasts one year. You only need a good-faith suspicion that you are or might become a victim. No police report required. This fits most people who learn their data was in a breach or who lost a wallet.
- Extended fraud alert. Lasts seven years. You have to submit an identity theft report, meaning either a report filed at IdentityTheft.gov or a police report. It also removes you from prescreened credit and insurance offer lists for five years.
- Active duty military alert. Lasts at least 12 months and is available to active duty service members. It removes you from prescreened offer lists for two years.
One point worth being clear on: only the extended and active duty alerts affect prescreened offers. An initial alert does not opt you out of those. If you want to stop them separately, that is a different free program at OptOutPrescreen.com or 1-888-567-8688.5Federal Trade Commission. What To Know About Prescreened Offers for Credit and Insurance
Your Free Credit Report After Placing the Alert
Placing an initial fraud alert entitles you to one free copy of your credit report. The bureau must tell you about this right and deliver the report within three business days of your request. If you place an extended alert, you get two free file disclosures from each bureau during the 12 months after placement, on top of the free annual reports available through AnnualCreditReport.com.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1681c-1 – Identity Theft Prevention; Fraud Alerts and Active Duty Alerts
Pull the reports promptly. The alert protects you going forward; reviewing the reports is how you catch any fraudulent account that was already opened before the flag went on.
Renewing or Removing the Alert
An initial fraud alert expires automatically after one year, with no auto-renewal. If you still want the protection after that, place a new one. The extended alert runs its full seven years without any renewal step. Active duty alerts run on the same one-year cycle as initial alerts and must be renewed if you want continued coverage.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1681c-1 – Identity Theft Prevention; Fraud Alerts and Active Duty Alerts
You can also remove an alert early. To keep a thief from doing this to you, TransUnion verifies identity before processing a removal, typically through a written request with copies of government-issued ID and proof of current address. Once TransUnion removes the alert, it tells the other two bureaus to do the same, and the extra verification step on new applications ends.
When a Credit Freeze Is the Better Choice
A fraud alert and a credit freeze are not the same tool. The alert flags your file and asks creditors to verify before opening new credit; your report stays accessible, and the protection depends on the creditor actually making the verification call. A credit freeze blocks the bureau from releasing your report to new-account requests at all, which is the stronger shield but takes more active management.1Consumer Advice. Credit Freezes and Fraud Alerts
A few practical contrasts worth knowing before you choose:
- One fraud alert request covers all three bureaus. A freeze has to be placed at each bureau separately.6USAGov. How to Place or Lift a Security Freeze on Your Credit Report
- With an alert you can apply for new credit normally and expect a verification call. With a freeze you have to lift it at the relevant bureau first; the bureau must lift it within one hour of an online or phone request.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1681c-1 – Identity Theft Prevention; Fraud Alerts and Active Duty Alerts
- Both are free under federal law.
- An initial alert expires after a year. A freeze stays on until you lift it.
People dealing with confirmed identity theft often use both, starting with the fraud alert because one call covers all three bureaus, then adding freezes at each bureau for long-term coverage.