You may need credit bureau phone numbers to request a free credit report if you have been turned down or would like to opt out of pre-approved credit card offers. Place security freezes, fraud alerts or get information about business credit services. You will need contact information for Equifax, Trans Union and Experian.
If you have children you'll want to make sure no one is using their social numbers to fraudulently apply for credit. This has become very common over the past few years. Unfortunately many people don't find out until the children turn 18 and apply for a credit card or car loan on their own. Finding out after the fact when there are pages of fraudulent defaulted credit makes it difficult to get corrected. In fact sometimes it takes months or even years to correct a credit report due to undetected identity theft. The sooner it is caught the easier it is to fix
Many credit monitoring and identity theft protection services offer free monitoring for your children's social security numbers and whole family plans. Check with all three bureaus directly or make sure the monitoring company you choose checks all three.
If you are turned down for credit the creditor must provide you with a denial letter listing the reason why and the credit bureau phone number (toll-free). You can use this letter to request a free copy of you report even if you have already gotten a copy of your free annual report.
In order to avoid identity theft it is a good idea to opt-out of pre-approved offers and mailing lists. You can use credit bureau phone numbers to contact all three. If you don't opt out make sure your mail box is secure and you don't throw away mail with sensitive information, like social security numbers of you or your children.
Here are the main credit bureau phone numbers:
Equifax: 1-800-685-1111
Experian: 1-888-397-3742
TransUnion: 1-800-888-4213
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