Victims of identity theft can now
place fraud alerts on their credit cards by simply filing a single fraud alert
request to one of the three credit bureaus. Credit bureaus collate your credit
history to help creditors to make an informed decision regarding your credit,
loan and mortgage applications. There are three main credit bureaus at the
moment, namely; TransUnion, Experian and Equifax.
One of the primary reason victims of
fraud file fraud alert is to protect their credit records and financial standing
from an impending scam. The impending scam is usually triggered after you
notice some irregularities in your credit card information or if you
erroneously filled out a payment form an unknown source or seemingly suspicious
websites. These are enough reasons for you to take necessary precaution. Filing
an initial fraud alerts on your credit cards has its own benefits.
● One of the primary benefits of placing fraud
alerts on your accounts is, it
creates an added layer of protection for your credit cards. During the
initial fraud alert all the transactions under your credit cards will all
require additional verification process to ensure that they are all legit and
authorized, keeping you safe from any unauthorized use of your credit card
information.
● All new applications and credit limit increase
are automatically coordinated and verified before they are approved. This
creates a safety net against scammers who want to use your personal information
to get access to your credit line. This form of scam is called identity theft
which can be a serious problem if not immediately addressed. In fact, some
cases of identity theft go on for years without the knowledge of their victim.
This is the reason why you should be more careful when giving out your
financial and personal information.
● You are entitled to receive a free credit report
from the three credit reporting agencies for free. The free credit report can
show you if there were any suspicious incident on your credit account. In case
there are suspicious incidents, you may request for an extension of the fraud alerts placed on your credit card accounts. This means you’ll continue to
receive the same protection until the time you request to have the fraud alerts
removed.
● The fraud alerts placed on your account can
serve as a proof of your innocence in case you run into any liability problems
in the future. These liability problems are often associated with the
transactions conducted by the scammers who took advantage of your credit card
and personal information. The fraud alerts will prove that your account has
been compromised during this time and that these transactions are unauthorized
and aren’t yours.
These re just some of the benefits
that you gain from placing fraud alerts on your credit cards. During this time,
when fraudulent schemes are so rampant, having access to this type of
protection as a consumer or a business owner is highly useful and beneficial.
This service can give you the peace of mind that your account and personal
information are safe and not being taken advantage of.
