Fraudalent Hard Inquiry

[Anonymous]

I received a letter in the mail the other day thanking me for my recent cc application.  Unfortunately I never applied.  It was denied, reason being "unable to verify application information.  So I called right up and was told someone applied online using my name, address and home phone #.

Fortunately for me they had the wrong SS# and date of birth.  This comes at a bad time because I am planning on applying for new credit. 

So my question is should I put a 90 day fraud alert on my reports and attempt to get the hard inquiry removed?  The CC's I want do not pull TU which the inquiry is on, so I am unsure if I should try to get it off or just get new credit and then freeze my reports and let the inquiry age off.

Thanks for the help.

[RobertEG]

The FCRA provides a procedure that permits you to get fraudulent information in your CR blocked from inclusion in any CR that they issue.

The procedure is outlined in FCRA 605B.  This requires you to do four things:

1. provide the CRA proof of your identity

2. provide the CRA with an "identity theft report.
3.  provide notification of the specific information fraudulently reported

4.  provide a statement to the CRA that the information is not information relating to any transaction by the consumer.

Item no. 2 requires that you obtain an identity theft report.  This is FCRA terminology, as defined under FCRA 603(q), for a copy of a police report.  So the first step is to file a police report with your local law enforcement agency.

[Anonymous]

I thought about that..i was told they used a fake email address on the app should I try and get the fake info from Discover or just file a police report and let them contact Discover?

I was under the impression that police reports led to a 7 year fraud alert..and would that be worth it for one hard inquiry?

[RobertEG]

FCRA 605B is not about placing a fraud alert on your CR.  That is done under FCRA 605A.

FCRA 605B  blocks the CRA. based on your sworn assertion of improper reporting by way of a police report, from any fiurther inclusion of that specific item of information in any CR they issue.

Whether or not the police intitiate any action based on  your police repport is entirely up to them.  An issue of improper posting of a credit inquiry is not likely to invoke a high degree of investigative resources on the part of the police department.  That is not of your concern under FCRA 605B.  The significance of filing the police report os that it gives you a statement, filed under penalty of criminal action against you, if any statements made therein was knowlingly false. You are just asserting a good faith allegation, and dont have to prove anything.  That is why the FCRA wants such a police report as a legal, sworn  document to support their subsequent blocking of that infromation from any credit report they then issue.

[Anonymous]

Ok I see..I need a police report to have the false info removed and to place an extended fraud alert on the report.  Or maybe I will just put a security freeze on the reports because you can temporarily lift them for free with an identity police report.