Fraud Alert/Credit info compromised...

[The Bandit]

Since we seem to be on the topic of credit...

Just before Christmas I received a letter from a "Corporatif Renaud Automobiles" in Quebec, stating that their access code and passwords which are used to access the Trans Union Canada System(Consumer Reporting Agency), may have been inappropriatley accessed and misused.

I went to my local Community Police station to see if there was any truth to it, and they said yes. So I've had to call Trans Union, Equifax, and Experian, to place a "fraud alert" on my credit file. The fraud alert will appear as "Comsumer may be a compromise victim. Prior to extending credit, please contact the applicant to verify all information". This will stay on my file for 5-6 years.

Now anytime someone tries to check my credit info, they will be scrutinized, and will need to have my written permission.

What a bunch of shit I have to go through just because of some scammers out there.

 

[hoser1970]

Bandit

A couple of other points

1) Anytime you are applying for credit, be sure to mention to the company you are dealing with that you have such an alert on your credit report. They will still need to call you to verify that in fact you have applied for credit with them, however if will help to reduce the risk that they believe YOU are the impersonater.

2) If you have not already done so, IMMEDIATELY obtain a copy of your credit report and ensure nothing is amiss. In addition, you should get in the habit of getting an up to date credit report every 3-6 months and thoroughly reviewing. Do not just look at the credit that has been approved, but also pay attention to the companies that have run recent inquiries on your credit history. If you do not recognize any of them, investigate. This could be a sign that someone is attempting to impsersonate you.