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When a criminal steals your account number and security code, they often are planning to use that account to make purchases. Your credit report is not consulted for purchase transactions. So, in such cases, you should consider contacting your card issuer and request a new account number. At minimum, you should check your account online to see if there has been any activity which you do not recognize. If the criminal’s goal is to open new accounts in your name, then it is likely that one of your three credit reports would be accessed by the potential lender. In that case, you may want to consider adding an alert to your reports. Fraud alerts are special statements consumers can have added to their credit report if they have reason to believe they may be a fraud victim or know that they have been victimized. There are two different fraud alerts: An initial security alert tells lenders that you may be a victim of fraud or identity theft and asks them to take additional measures to verify the identity of the applicant before granting credit in your name. You can request a free copy of your credit report when you request that the alert be added. If you don’t find evidence of fraud, you can have the alert removed, or simply allow it to expire. If you do find evidence of fraud, your next step would be to add an extended security alert, sometimes called a victim statement. You will need a police report or other valid identity theft report to add an extended security alert. The extended security alert states that you are a victim of identity theft and requests that lenders call you to verify your identity before granting credit in your name. An extended security alert remains on your credit report for seven years or until you ask that it be removed. The alerts are included when your report is provided to a lender so they can take appropriate action when the alert is on your report. There is no charge to add a fraud alert. When you do so, Experian notifies the other national credit reporting companies so that alerts can be added to those reports, as well. You can add an alert online at experian.com/fraud, or by calling 1-888-EXPERIAN (1-888-397-3742) and selecting the fraud option.

News of the Target stores security breach has caused many people to ask what they can do to protect themselves from misuse of their stolen identification information. When a criminal steals your account number and security code, they often are planning to use that account to make purchases. Your credit report is not consulted for purchase transactions.  So, in such cases, you should consider contacting your card issuer and request a new account number.  At minimum, you should check your account online to see if there has been any activity which you do not recognize. The system of fraud alerts that has been in place for decades in the credit reporting systems was designed specifically to help people who are identity theft victims, or have reason to believe they may be, to stop credit fraud resulting from that identity theft. In the Target incident and similar data breaches, neither a temporary security alert nor a fraud victim statement on your credit report will stop the thief from using your credit card account. But the alerts may help protect affected consumers from new credit fraud if the identity thief attempts to open new credit accounts using their stolen information. These services are available at no charge to anyone who is a victim of identity theft, or who has reason to believe they may be a victim: Temporary Security Alert (90 days) You can add a temporary, initial security alert to your credit report. You can do so at experian.com/fraud. The alert is free and lasts for 90 days. That gives you time to get a copy of your credit report, which is also free, and ensure there is no credit fraud appearing on your report. The alert is sent every time a lender or other business requests a copy of your credit report. The alert says: Fraudulent applications may be submitted in my name or my identity may have been used without my consent to fraudulently obtain goods or services. Do not extend credit without first verifying the identity of the applicant. I can be reached at XXX-XXX-XXXXEXTXXXXX. This Security Alert will be maintained for 90 days beginning MM-DD-YY. Initial security alerts are intended for people who know or have reason to believe they are at increased risk of credit fraud. For example, they may have lost their wallet or purse, or they may have received a notice that their identifying information was compromised as the result of a computer data breach. For those individuals a temporary security alert may be all that is needed. If they find their wallet or purse, or the data is recovered and has not been accessed, they have no need to continue the alert because the threat no longer exists. Extended Fraud Alert Also known as a victim statement, the extended alert statement says: Fraudulent applications may be submitted in my name or my identity may have been used without my consent to fraudulently obtain goods or services. Do not extend credit without first contacting me personally and verifying all application information at DAY XXX-XXX-XXXXEXTXXXXX or EVENING XXX-XXX-XXXXEXTXXXXX . This victim alert will be maintained for seven years beginning MM-DD-YY. In order to add a victim statement you must first file a police report or valid identity theft report. A victim statement lasts seven years, and like an initial security alert, is provided to every business that requests your credit report. Experian and the other national credit reporting companies share initial security alerts and fraud victim statements when they are requested by a consumer. When one of the credit reporting companies is contacted, it will automatically notify the others to add the alert, as well. The credit reporting companies implemented the one-call process a number of years ago. They recognized the importance of making it as easy as possible for people at high risk of identity theft or who already were victimized to add the alerts so that they could begin the recovery process.

As Senior Vice President of Government Affairs and Public Policy at Experian, I had the opportunity to testify today before the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation. As always, we continue to welcome the Committee’s interest in the marketing data industry. In the spirit of cooperation, our goal is to help the Committee understand the role our data services play in the economy and in the lives of consumers. Specifically, here are some key points we have shared to help inform the Committee’s work and interest in better understanding the marketplace: Experian believes responsible information sharing enhances economic productivity in the United States and provides many benefits to consumers. Economists have stated the manner in which US companies collect and share consumer information among affiliated entities and third parties is the key ingredient to our nation’s productivity, innovation and ability to compete in the global marketplace. As we discuss this topic, it is vitally important for everyone to understand that there is a clear difference between data that is used to assess eligibility for credit and data that is used to deliver relevant advertising to consumers. These differences are already well recognized under existing law. The data used for marketing purposes is maintained in entirely separate databases that are regulated under various sector-specific privacy laws. Experian marketing data is not used to determine eligibility relating to credit, insurance, employment, housing or other decisions covered by the Fair Credit Reporting Act. Experian has strict policies, as well as technological and procedural controls that ensure this complete separation. Experian has been forthcoming and cooperative throughout this inquiry launched by the Committee over a year ago. We have spent considerable time and resources to ensure that the information and documents we have provided are helpful to the Committee’s work in understanding the marketplace. To date, Experian has provided the Committee with eight submissions totaling over three thousand pages, which we believe provide a full description of our products, services and consumer protections. We have also met with the offices of the Senators on the Committee to describe our practices and respond to any questions about our company, products and services. We have consistently been assured that this inquiry aims to build a general understanding within the Committee of the marketing data ecosystem, and we view this as another good opportunity to educate policy-makers about the benefits of the appropriate use of consumer data. Read the full testimony here.