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You may be asked to provide evidence supporting why you think you are still at risk. If you think that you are still at risk of becoming a victim of fraud after the 21 days, you can ask for an extension of the ban period by contacting the credit reporting body or bodies with whom you’ve got the ban before the initial ban ends.
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They will let you know what to do, which may include waiting until the ban period ends before applying or requesting the credit reporting body to lift the ban to allow the application to be assessed and, if necessary, reapplying a ban after it has been assessed.ĭon’t believe anyone who suggests that there is one single effective means to get protection - there isn’t.Ī credit ban is a short-term action to protect your credit identity, but it is not a long-term solution if you are actively shopping for a new loan. If you are legitimately applying for credit while there is a ban on your credit report, you should remove the ban before applying for new credit or talk to the credit provider before submitting the application. Of course, keep in mind that while there is a ban on your credit report, it will be harder for you to be approved for credit (but that will go away as soon as the ban is lifted). For many lenders, credit checks are required before approving a credit application, so the ban can stop the fraudster’s loan application from proceeding. The ban will initially apply for 21 days (and will then expire if you do not do anything).Ī short-term ban protects you if a fraudster applies for a loan in your name as the lender won’t be able to conduct a credit check. The credit ban will block all third parties, such as lenders or other companies, from accessing your credit file without your consent.īans add a layer of protection to your credit report and provide a short-term response when you are a victim of identity theft. The three CRBs are Equifax, Experian and illion. You can place a credit ban on your credit report with just one credit reporting body (CRB), who, at your request, can also extend the ban to the other two credit reporting bodies. If they do none of these, then get an attorney and threaten or take legal action against them.In Australia a ‘lock’ on your credit report is known as a ‘credit ban’. Therefore, by law, now that they know that the account is controlled by someone who is not you, they are required to either disable the account, block the account from lifting or removing your security freeze or viewing your credit report, or transfer the account to you. Cite that 1) the account is currently controlled by an identity thief, 2) the account is capable of unfreezing your Equifax credit report, and 3) that the Fair Credit Reporting Act requires that they properly verify one's identity prior to lifting a freeze.Īdditionally, the account can also be used to obtain a copy of your consumer disclosure report, which under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the credit bureau can only supply if they reasonably believe that it is being requested by the consumer or an authorized representative or the requester has permissible purpose (neither of which apply to the identity thief). If you ask them to transfer the account to you, include in the letter a desired email address, phone number, and temporary password that they may use. In the case of Equifax, you'll probably have to send a letter to them by Certified Priority mail requesting that the account is either shut down or ownership is transferred to you. In the case of Experian, you can call them and request that they "cancel" the account.