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How to remove a fraud alert
Dear Max,
Please help me update or remove the security freeze on my file for seven days. I cannot get it done on the phone and it seems so frustrating to not be able to talk to a person. Some years back I thought that there might be fraudulent intent and was advised to freeze the account so third parties could not access my information. The phone number has never been updated. I have not received any calls from you that my credit was being checked, etc. I need the file to be current. I need to get a cell phone. My father is dying, and it is so important to have my account unfrozen for 7 days so the phone service can check my file.
- VLS
Dear VLS,
I'm sorry about your father. Unfortunately, you must submit a request in writing to have the “security freeze” removed from your credit history.
In fact, it sounds like you did not actually have a “security freeze” added to your credit history. State laws in California and Texas allow their residents to “freeze” the entire credit history from access by lenders unless the consumer removes the freeze.
Residents of those states can remove the freeze by logging on to www.experian.com/tempfreezeremoval, or by calling 1 888 397 3742 and following the instructions provided. The telephone call must be made from Texas or California.
Your email did not come from either of those states, and the content suggests the alert was added several years ago. The California and Texas laws were enacted more recently.
Instead of a file freeze, you appear to have added a fraud victim statement that asks lenders to call you before granting credit in your name.
Experian does not process accounts or approve applications, so it would not call you in response to a victim statement. The statements are included on your credit report when it is sent to lenders. The lender should call you to verify your identity when you apply for credit.
In fact, the new Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions (FACT) Act, requires lenders to take reasonable actions in response to such statements when they receive a fraud statement with your credit history.
To have the statement removed, write:
Experian
P.O. Box 9532
Allen, TX 75013
You must send complete identifying information including your name, address, Social Security number and date of birth. You must also send copies of two documents verifying your current address, such as current utility bills and your driver’s license.
The identifying information is required so that Experian can ensure you are asking that the alert be removed, not an identity thief posing as you.
Other types of disputes and requests should not be sent to this address.
If no fraud has occurred, I recommend you remove the statement permanently. It is not intended as a preventative tool. Instead, it is designed to help true victims recover.
You have discovered one of the most significant problems with adding a victim statement when you are not truly a victim. When the approval process is automated, such as in a cellular telephone transaction, the business may simply deny your application rather than stop the automated system and conduct a manual review, including a telephone call to you. It’s less expensive for them and safer for you if they just deny the application.
Thanks for asking.
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