I have not been contacted to lift a fraud alert on my account to approve a recent credit inquiry. Should I receive a request to remove the alert when I apply for credit?
- JWL
Dear JWL,
You will not receive a notice to remove a fraud alert when you apply for credit.
Fraud alerts, also called security alerts, are added to your credit report to notify lenders that you are, or may be, a victim of identity theft.
There are two types of security alerts. The first type, called an initial security alert, lasts for twelve months. The second, called an extended victim statement, remains on your credit report for seven years. Both alerts ask lenders to take additional steps to verify your identity or contact you by telephone before granting credit in your name.
If you have a security alert on your credit report and wish to have it removed, you must send your request to Experian in writing along with copies of documentation verifying your identity. You can find a form that includes the information you need to submit and the address to which you should send it in Experian's online Fraud Center.
You might be confusing security alerts with a security freeze. A security freeze blocks access to your credit report. You must lift the freeze before applying for credit. If you added a security freeze, you would have created or received a PIN number that must be provided each time you wish to lift the freeze.
To learn more about a security freeze, request that it be lifted, or have a new PIN number issued, go to Experian's Freeze Center.
Thanks for asking.
The "Ask Experian" team