Credit Reporting Agencies
September 28, 2007
Here are the Three Credit Reporting Agencies
| Equifax Credit Information Services http://www.equifax.com PO Box 105873 Atlanta, GA 30348 800-685-1111
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| Experian http://www.experian.com PO Box 2002 Allen, TX 75013-2002 888-397-3742
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| Trans Union http://www.transunion.com Consumer Relations Center PO Box 1000 Chester, PA 19022 800-888-4213 OR 440-779-7200 |
If you are an identity theft victim, use the info below to contact the fraud departments.
I was recently a victim of a car break in where copies of my birth certificate and passport was taken. A police report was filled with my local police department and a claim with my auto insurance company. I’m not sure how I should handle the situation, would you suggest that I place a freeze on my credit reports or wait until someone attempts to open a new account using the copies of the stolen documents?
That’s some very serious information to have stolen, Carolyn. You shouldn’t wait until someone attempts to or actually opens an account in your name. It’s always easier to prevent identity theft than it is to fix it.
At the very least, place the free fraud alerts on your credit files and remember to renew them every 90 days. If you don’t plan to open any new credit accounts in the near future, a freeze will totally shut down any new accounts. It will also stop you from being able to open any, too.
Here’s a post about fraud alerts vs security freeze.