What are the drawbacks of a fraud alert?
The only potential drawback to activating a fraud alert would occur when you attempt to open a new account. You would need to be available at either your work phone number or home phone number in order to approve opening the new credit account. If you are not available at either of those numbers, the creditor may not open the account. Fraud alerts will not necessarily prevent someone else from opening an account in your name. A creditor is not required by law to contact you if you have a fraud alert in place. If you suspect that you are or have already been a victim of identity theft, fraud alerts are only a small part of protecting your credit. You also need to pay close attention to your credit report to make sure that the only credit inquiries or new credit accounts in your file are yours.
