# Questions about credit fraud alerts **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 20, 2014, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-about-credit-fraud-alerts/707746 "2014-12-20T16:18:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![boffking](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/858c86/32.png) [@boffking](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boffking)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2014, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-about-credit-fraud-alerts/707746/1 "2014-12-20T16:18:10Z")
I discovered that my college severely fucked up last January when I got somebody else’s student loan bill. The issue has been fixed, and it was a mistake, but when this happened I called Experian to put a fraud alert on my credit report. The student loan is not on my report anymore, but I left the alert on. How long does a fraud alert last? I now need a new car and want to know if this will effect my ability to get a car loan. ---
**Author:** ![ethelbert](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/958977/32.png) [@ethelbert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ethelbert)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2014, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-about-credit-fraud-alerts/707746/2 "2014-12-24T16:14:04Z")
It should not affect your ability to get a loan, except for “instant credit”. Many identity thieves take your information to a department store and get one of the credit cards they are always pushing that come with instant credit. Supposedly having a fraud alert will stop this kind of activity (assuming that you have such a fraud alert with all the credit agencies). Just having a fraud alert will not affect your credit score, nor will it affect your ability to get a loan. The loan officer may ask you some questions to confirm your identity. It used to be that those alerts lasted six months and needed to be renewed, but I am not sure of that now. Personally, I think everyone should have a fraud alert. ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2014, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-about-credit-fraud-alerts/707746/3 "2014-12-24T17:35:30Z")
An initial (free) fraud alert for all three credit reporting companies is 90 days. After that you generally have two options: [ul] [li]A documented identity theft to extend an alert.[/li][li]You pay for ongoing credit monitoring.[/li][/ul] There are exceptions so you have to check each credit agency for details. ---
**Author:** ![Poysyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Poysyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Poysyn)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2014, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-about-credit-fraud-alerts/707746/4 "2014-12-25T01:28:49Z")
I have a fraud alert (thanks to some dude in la belle province) and all it changes is that I need a bit more ID/time to establish I am who I say I am. ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2014, 11:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-about-credit-fraud-alerts/707746/5 "2014-12-25T11:55:35Z")
My CC issuer does it as part of the service. When I made an unusually large purchase recently, I processed the sale as normal and my phone rang. Naturally I ignored it but the transaction would not complete. Phone rang again and when I answered it there was a nice young lady asking if I really wanted to spend that much on a present. Well - she actually was just checking that it was me. A slight embarrassment in the sales queue but a welcome intervention if my card had gone missing, even chip and pin is not 100% safe. ---
**Author:** ![GusNSpot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gusnspot/32/436_2.png) [@GusNSpot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GusNSpot)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2014, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-about-credit-fraud-alerts/707746/6 "2014-12-25T17:50:00Z")
> [@bob\_2](#): > > My CC issuer does it as part of the service. When I made an unusually large purchase recently, I processed the sale as normal and my phone rang. Naturally I ignored it but the transaction would not complete. Phone rang again and when I answered it there was a nice young lady asking if I really wanted to spend that much on a present. Well - she actually was just checking that it was me. > > A slight embarrassment in the sales queue but a welcome intervention if my card had gone missing, even chip and pin is not 100% safe. ↑ ↑ ↑ This… 🆒