Because of a possible recent incident in which my SSN may have been exposed to those who would use it for ill, I’m planning to check up on my credit report (through annualcreditreport.com, of course).
My question is this: this incident is, as I said, relatively recent. Would I need to wait a bit first before possible fraud would actually show? Or would it show right away?
Also, which of the three agencies should I check? I could check 'em all, but of course I wouldn’t get any more for the year.
I think you can put a fraud alert on each credit report that would help prevent misuse. And if another company compromised your SSN, you could ask them to pay for any reasonable costs you incurred.
If you put a fraud alert on yourself at any of the three credit agencies, they will forward your request to the other two. So, only one phone call/webform completion is needed.
In any case, it can take anywhere from 30-90 days for delinquencies and other naughtiness to end up on your report. The credit bureaus only record delinquencies for payments that are 30 days past due on revolving accounts.
For example, you buy something on your stolen credit card on Jan. 1. The billing cycle ends Jan 31. You get the bill in early February, with a due date of, say, Feb. 20. Then you don’t pay it. Come March 20, the bill is 30 days late. The bank marks this delinquency on your account. Then at the end of March, they send a batch of delinquency data to the credit bureaus, indicating that the payment for your January bill is 30 days late. So you wouldn’t even see it on your report until some time in April.
OTOH, I’ve seen other banks report stuff much faster.
Thanks, freido, for actually answering one of my questions. 
Unless Dag Otto and Viscera were suggesting I put a preemptive fraud report on? I’m not sure I have anything. That’s why I asked.
So does it matter which of the three agencies I check? Like I said, I’d check all three, but that puts me out of getting any more for free for the rest of the year.
Friedo is correct regarding a past due amount on an established account. However if someone uses your SSN to create a new account, that will show up much faster. The inquiry that’ll be done will show up right away and new accounts seem to show up within a week or so of being setup. I use a credit monitor. The last time I applied for a loan, I got an email on my phone while I was still sitting in the dealer’s showroom from the credit monitoring agency letting me know about a change to my credit report.
If you’re really worried, I’d wait about a week and check one of them, if you don’t see anything (new account or inquiry) and you’re still worried, I’d wait another 60 days or so before getting another report.
The credit reporting agencies will attempt to charge you money. Don’t let them. Note that some states have for consumer-friendly laws than the Feds give you.
IIRC, you’re allowed one free credit report per year. So why not stagger your requests over the next 4-5 months?
Assuming you’re not planning on applying for credit soon, I’d recommend a fraud alert - it only lasts 90 days anyway. See this webpage for details.
http://www.fightidentitytheft.com/flag.html
They will attempt to charge you money…? At a site that is run by the big agencies and does nothing but work with the FTC to make sure you have access to free reports?
Seriously?
That sounds like fraud, Measure for Measure: A fraudulent claim by you.
Annualcreditreport.com You never have to pay for your free report. The agencies won’t attempt to charge you for your credit info.
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Woah Philster, slow down. I have no problems with Annualcreditreport.com , which indeed is one of the go-to places and is not a scam site. That said, I was a victim of identity theft last year, and had to listen to several minutes (cumulatively) of advertising over the telephone of pitches by the credit reporting agencies. Furthermore, when I attempted to secure my rights under my state’s law, I was flatly refused by one credit reporting correspondent (from Equifax) – and her boss! I had to contact the proper department in my state to intercede on my behalf.
The OP will learn all about this, once they attempt to put a fraud alert on their account via telephone. Tip: Experian provides the least amount of nonsense of the 3 bureaus.
Here’s an example:
Go to annualcreditreport.com and click: Fraud alert:
Okay. Now click www.alerts.equifax.com . I dunno about you, but I’m getting a dead link. Now click www.transunion.com : Feel the love. Click Get Your FREE credit score! … : “You’ve chosen: Credit Monitoring seven-day free trial, $14.95/month thereafter!” This is the sort of crapola I was warning about.
If the OP wishes, they can tell us of their luck with Experian, the preferred choice.