What Does a Fraud Alert Do to Your Credit Report?

A fraud alert on your credit report attaches a notice to your file at Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion telling any business that pulls the report that you may be an identity theft victim, and it legally obligates lenders to verify your identity before opening a new account, issuing an additional card, or raising a credit limit in your name.¹ It does not freeze the report, change your score, or stop fraud on accounts you already have.

What the Alert Adds to Your File

When a fraud alert is active, every business that requests your credit report sees the warning. Federal law then requires that business to take reasonable steps to confirm you are the person applying before extending new credit.¹ In practice, the lender calls the phone number you listed when you placed the alert. If they can’t reach you or verify your identity, they generally cannot approve the application.

That phone call is the whole point. It inserts a manual checkpoint into what is normally an automated approval. A thief with your name, Social Security number, and address still gets stopped at the verification step. The rule applies to mortgage lenders, auto finance companies, credit card issuers, and retail stores offering store-branded cards.¹

An initial alert also entitles you to one free credit report from each of the three bureaus during the year it is in effect. An extended alert, available after confirmed identity theft, gives you two free reports from each bureau in the first twelve months.²

What It Doesn’t Change

A fraud alert leaves your credit report fully accessible. Businesses can still pull it for employment background checks, insurance underwriting, and rental applications; the verification requirement only kicks in when someone tries to open a new account or raise a credit line.²

It also does nothing to your credit score. The alert is a notice to lenders, not a mark against you, and scoring models ignore it.

And it has no effect on accounts that already exist. If someone has your credit card number and is running up charges, a fraud alert will not stop them.³ You handle existing-account fraud by contacting the bank or card issuer directly to dispute the charges and close or reissue the account.

How Long the Alert Stays on Your Report

The duration depends on which type you place. All three are free.¹

An initial fraud alert lasts one year. Anyone who suspects they are or may become an identity theft victim can place one; a good-faith suspicion is enough, and no proof is required.¹ You can renew it when it expires.

An extended fraud alert lasts seven years and is available if you have already been victimized. It requires an identity theft report, either one filed through IdentityTheft.gov or a police report.² It also removes your name from prescreened credit and insurance offer lists for five years.¹

An active duty alert lasts one year, is available to service members deployed away from their normal duty station, and takes you off prescreened offer lists for two years so junk mail doesn’t pile up while you’re gone.²

How It Affects Your Own Credit Applications

The verification step applies to you too. When you apply for a credit card, mortgage, or auto loan while an alert is active, the lender must reach you and confirm your identity before approving the application. That can slow down instant-approval offers and in-store financing. Keeping the phone number on your alert current is the single most useful thing you can do to keep the delay short.

Fraud Alert vs. Credit Freeze

A credit freeze is the stronger measure. A freeze blocks access to your credit report entirely, so no one, including you, can open a new account until you lift it.² You have to temporarily lift the freeze each time you apply for credit or do anything else that triggers a credit check. A fraud alert leaves your report accessible and adds only the verification step.

Both are free, and you can use them together.² A freeze stays until you remove it; a fraud alert expires after one or seven years depending on the type. For confirmed identity theft or a serious data breach, running both gives you the widest coverage: the freeze blocks new accounts, and the alert catches anything that slips through when you lift the freeze for a legitimate application.

How to Place One

You only have to contact one of the three bureaus. The bureau you call or message is required by federal law to notify the other two, and the alert goes on all three files.¹ You can submit the request online, by phone, or by mail:⁴

Equifax: 800-685-1111 or equifax.com/personal/credit-report-services
Experian: 888-397-3742 or experian.com/help
TransUnion: 888-909-8872 or transunion.com/credit-help

Have your full legal name, Social Security number, date of birth, and current and recent addresses ready, plus the phone number you want lenders to call for verification. For an extended alert, you will also need the identity theft report from IdentityTheft.gov or a police report.⁵ Each bureau sends a confirmation letter once the alert is in place.

Removal works differently. If you want to lift the alert before it expires, you have to contact each bureau separately; the automatic notification between bureaus only runs one direction, when you add an alert.

1
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1681c-1 – Identity Theft Prevention; Fraud Alerts and Active Duty Alerts
2
Federal Trade Commission. Credit Freezes and Fraud Alerts
3
Office for Victims of Crime. Fraud Alerts and Credit Freezes
4
IdentityTheft.gov. Credit Bureau Contacts
5
IdentityTheft.gov. What To Do Right Away