What is an initial fraud alert, how does it happen, and does it hurt the member?
A fraud alert can be placed by the consumer; typically this is done when your wallet or checkbook is lost or stolen. By calling one credit bureau and requesting a fraud alert they will place it on their report, and then they will notify the other two bureaus. The credit bureaus will then inform you if a credit inquiry is made on your social security number. It may also be placed on a consumer file by the credit bureau if they feel any type of inquiry might be coming to them from a source other than the actual consumer. It is not uncommon for this to happen when we initiate our credit repair investigations, or even just ordering our members credit reports. The fraud alert will last for 90 days and does not affect the member’s processing by our processing department. However, the credit bureaus may request additional information or identification from our member before satisfying our processing requests.
