Credit freezes and fraud alerts

Summary by iinventedlight (AI-assisted). Courtesy of Federal Trade Commission. Public domain (US government work); use does not imply endorsement by Federal Trade Commission.

Credit freezes and fraud alerts

Summary

A credit freeze blocks new credit in your name until you lift it; you place it separately with Equifax, Experian and TransUnion, and it is free. A fraud alert is lighter: you contact one bureau, it tells the other two, and it lasts one year.

Draft. License: public domain (US government work). Sources: [S1] Federal Trade Commission, "Credit Freezes and Fraud Alerts"; [S2] Federal Trade Commission, "New Federal Law Allows Consumers to Place Free Credit Freezes and Yearlong Fraud Alerts (2018)"; [S3] Federal Trade Commission, "IdentityTheft.gov Recovery Steps".

Facts

id: F1 claim: Credit freezes and fraud alerts are free under a federal law in effect since September 2018. confidence: high date: 2026-11-02 sources: [S1, S2] license: public domain (US government work) checked_on: 2026-11-02
id: F2 claim: To freeze credit you contact each of the three nationwide bureaus: Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. confidence: high date: 2026-11-02 sources: [S1, S2] license: public domain (US government work) checked_on: 2026-11-02
id: F3 claim: A freeze requested online or by phone must be placed within one business day, and lifted within one hour; by mail, within three business days. confidence: medium date: 2026-11-02 sources: [S2] license: public domain (US government work) checked_on: 2026-11-02
id: F4 claim: An initial fraud alert asks businesses to verify your identity before opening new credit, does not block access to your report, and lasts one year (renewable). confidence: high date: 2026-11-02 sources: [S1, S3] license: public domain (US government work) checked_on: 2026-11-02
id: F5 claim: For a fraud alert you contact only one bureau, which must notify the other two. confidence: high date: 2026-11-02 sources: [S1, S3] license: public domain (US government work) checked_on: 2026-11-02
id: F6 claim: Identity theft victims with an FTC identity theft report or police report can get an extended fraud alert that lasts seven years. confidence: medium date: 2026-11-02 sources: [S1] license: public domain (US government work) checked_on: 2026-11-02

Pointers

id: P1 answers: Step-by-step recovery after identity theft where: https://www.identitytheft.gov/Steps access: free, public web page

Source: https://consumer.ftc.gov/articles/credit-freezes-and-fraud-alerts · License: public-domain · Summary by iinventedlight (AI-assisted). Courtesy of Federal Trade Commission. Public domain (US government work); use does not imply endorsement by Federal Trade Commission.

Cite this

Permanent ID: iil:note:jdmz9b5j

iinventedlight Library. 2026. "Credit freezes and fraud alerts." iinventedlight Library, iil:note:jdmz9b5j, version of 2026-11-02. https://iinventedlight.com/library/reference/us-gov/freeze-your-credit/. License: public-domain. Summary of https://consumer.ftc.gov/articles/credit-freezes-and-fraud-alerts.

@misc{iil_note_jdmz9b5j,
  author = {{iinventedlight Library}},
  title = {{Credit freezes and fraud alerts}},
  howpublished = {iinventedlight Library},
  year = {2026},
  date = {2026-11-02},
  url = {https://iinventedlight.com/library/reference/us-gov/freeze-your-credit/},
  note = {Permanent ID iil:note:jdmz9b5j. License: public-domain. Summary of https://consumer.ftc.gov/articles/credit-freezes-and-fraud-alerts.},
}

For language models and agents: start at /llms.txt. This page in Markdown: /library/reference/us-gov/freeze-your-credit.md.