Placing Military Active Duty Alerts on Credit Report

If you are a member of the military and away from your usual duty station, you may place an “active duty alert” on your credit reports. This will help minimize the risk of identity theft while you are deployed. Your credit reports contains information on where you live, how you pay your bills, collections and public records such as judgments, tax liens and bankruptcy. Creditors, insurers, employers, and other businesses use the information in your report to evaluate your applications for credit and for many other purposes.

Your credit report can be a tool to help you guard against or discover identity theft. Identity theft occurs when someone uses your personal information such as your name, Social Security number, or your credit card number to commit fraud. Identity thieves may use your information to open a new credit card account in your name. Then, when they don’t pay the bills, the delinquent account is reported on your credit report. Inaccurate or fraudulent information could affect your ability to get credit, insurance, or housing, now or in the future. People whose identities have been stolen can spend months or years cleaning up the mess the thieves have made of their names and credit records.

When a business sees the alert on your credit report, it must verify your identity before issuing you credit. The business may try to contact you directly, but if you’re on deployment, that may be impossible. As a result, the law allows you to use a personal representative to place or remove an alert. Active duty alerts on your credit report are effective for one year, unless you request that the alert be removed sooner. If your deployment lasts longer, you may place another alert on your report.

To place an “active duty” alert, or to have it removed, call the toll-free fraud number of one of the three consumer credit reporting agencies – Equifax, Experian, or TransUnion. You only have to contact one and they will contact the other two agencies. The agency will require you to provide appropriate proof of your identity, which may include your Social Security number, your name, address, and other personal information. The contact information is:

Equifax: 1-800-525-6285; www.equifax.com

Experian: 1-888-EXPERIAN (397-3742); www.experian.com

TransUnion: 1-800-680-7289; www.transunion.com

If your contact information changes before your alert expires, remember to update it.  When you place an active duty alert, your name will be removed from the consumer credit reporting agencies’ marketing lists for pre-screened offers of credit and insurance for two years, unless you ask that your name be placed on the lists before then. Pre-screened or “pre-approved credit” offers are usually for credit cards.

The last thing you want to worry about while you’re on deployment is someone assuming your identity to commit financial fraud.  You should place an “active duty” alert on your credit report for your protection.

John Ulzheimer is the President of Consumer Education at SmartCredit.com, the credit blogger for Mint.com, and a Contributor for the National Foundation for Credit Counseling.  He is an expert on credit reporting, credit scoring and identity theft. Formerly of FICO, Equifax and Credit.com, John is the only recognized credit expert who actually comes from the credit industry.  Follow him on Twitter here.

Categorised in: Credit Monitoring, Credit Report, Identity Theft, Money & Identity

This post was written by John Ulzheimer