How to Remove a Fraud Alert From Your Credit Report

If you think someone has stolen your identity or you’re worried about the possibility, placing a fraud alert on your credit report can protect you while still giving you the freedom to open new accounts if you want to.

However, you might eventually decide to remove the alert and will need to know how to remove a fraud alert from your credit report.

How to remove a fraud alert from your credit report

You might wonder if you need to remove fraud alerts or if they expire. Fraud alerts do eventually expire, but the expiration date varies depending on the type of alert:

• Initial fraud alerts expire after one year
• Extended fraud alerts expire after seven years
• Active duty fraud alerts expire after one year

If you want to remove a fraud alert before it expires, you can. To do so, you’ll need to contact each credit bureau individually.

Remove a fraud alert from Equifax

Equifax gives you a couple of ways to remove the alert:

• Call (888) 836-6351 (open from 8 a.m. to midnight ET, seven days per week)
• Send a written request to Equifax Information Services LLC, P.O. Box 105069, Atlanta, GA 30348-5069

Unlike Experian and TransUnion, Equifax doesn’t let you remove a fraud alert online. To verify that you’re the person requesting to remove the alert, Equifax will ask you to send one document verifying your identity and one verifying your address.

Remove a fraud alert from Experian

Experian also gives you a few options:

• Visit their fraud alert center online
• Call (888) 397-3742
• Mail a written request to Experian, P.O. Box 9554, Allen, TX 75013

Experian also requires you to send documents verifying your ID and address.

Remove a fraud alert from TransUnion

To remove your fraud alert with TransUnion, you can do one of the following:

• Visit TransUnion’s online service center
• Call (800) 916-8800

Just like with the other credit bureaus, you’ll need to supply documentation of your identity.

Fraud alert vs. credit freeze: What's the difference?

Credit bureaus give you two main options for protecting your credit profile from identity thieves. They are fraud alerts and credit freezes. Some people use these terms interchangeably, but they aren’t the same.

A fraud alert requires lenders to verify your identity before opening new accounts in your name. A credit freeze prevents lenders from accessing your report or opening any new accounts in your name.

For example, if you try to open a new credit account when you have a fraud alert in place, the lender might call you directly to verify that you’re the one trying to open the account.

However, when you’ve frozen your credit, you won’t be able to open a new credit account until you’ve removed the freeze entirely.

It’s important to note that there’s no cost to put either a fraud alert or a credit freeze on your report.

When to remove a fraud alert vs. keep it

Knowing how to remove a fraud alert from your credit report is important. But how do you know whether you should remove a fraud alert or keep it?

Generally, you should keep a fraud alert if you’ve confirmed you were a victim of identity theft or if your information was included in a recent data breach.

Many people remove fraud alerts when they believe they’re no longer at risk and want to open new credit accounts without having to verify their identities first. In many cases, the verification process means that opening another line of credit will take longer.

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