 Security
Alert Guide
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A security alert on your credit report is
the most important measure to take if you are an identity theft victim
or have reason to believe you are at high risk of becoming one.
A security alert is a warning that can be placed on your credit
report if you are a likely identity theft victim. It warns the following:
- Fraudulent credit applications might be submitted in your name
- An impostor might have used your identity to obtain goods or
services.
- Before extending credit, verify all information and contact you
personally.
Equifax, Experian, and Trans Union have been providing alerts for
affected consumers who request them at their fraud
alert phone numbers but new laws are going to improve consumer
rights for security alerts, including a new option, the security
freeze.
California Senate Bill 168 (CA SB 168)
Starting July 1, 2002, you may request that a
security alert be placed on your credit report. The credit reporting
agency must comply within 5 business days, and must show it to those who
request your credit report for 90 days.
Starting January 1, 2003 you may request a
security freeze. A security freeze has the following provisions:
- Your credit report must not be displayed without your permission.
(If you need to apply for credit, you can have the
freeze temporarily lifted by contacting the credit bureau.)
- You are to be notified if anyone makes changes to your credit file
identity information, such as name, address, date of birth or
social security number.
- You must be notified, in writing, of any name, address, Social
Security number, or date of birth change to your file.
Other States
It is expected that many of these rules will be adopted in
other states, or that the credit bureaus will start applying them
voluntarily.
Security Freeze Exceptions
The new security freeze laws will not apply to:
In other words, you won't be able to use a security freeze
as a way to hide from those having a legal permissible purpose to see your
credit report.
Pitfalls of security alerts
Security alerts are not always heeded, and currently, it is completely
up to whoever reads a credit report whether or not to pay attention to
them. That's why the security freeze will be a much better option. You'll
be able to ensure, for a period of time, that nobody will be able to see
your credit report in order to grant credit to someone attempting identity
theft.
There are other pitfalls of security alerts:
- You must contact each credit reporting agency
- They make it less convenient for you to obtain credit for yourself
- Companies who saw the credit report before the alert (and who,
perhaps, already granted credit to the identity thief) are not
automatically notified.
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