When unauthorized accounts or odd inquiries show up on your credit file, picking up the phone feels like the fastest move. The sources behind this piece cover the first steps well. They say much less about what happens on the call itself. This article separates what they confirm from what you will need to ask the bureau.

Hands sorting envelopes and a handwritten notepad on a sunlit kitchen table at home
Federal guidance outlines the primary reporting paths consumers can take when addressing suspected identity theft.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau lays out a baseline in its guidance for identity theft victims. Close compromised accounts. Report the theft to local police and at IdentityTheft.gov. Place fraud alerts or security freezes on your credit reports.

What the CFPB says to do first

Start with the accounts you know were tampered with. The CFPB says to close them and to contact the security or fraud department at each affected financial institution. Do this before you worry about the bureaus.

Next, report the theft to the Federal Trade Commission at IdentityTheft.gov. The CFPB says that process produces an Identity Theft Report and a recovery plan that walks you through the next steps. Keep both. You may need the report later when you deal with a bureau or a creditor.

The CFPB names fraud alerts and security freezes as the credit report protections for victims. The page it uses to explain how to reach the bureaus is cut off in the copy we reviewed. It breaks off mid-sentence at the step that begins "Contact any one of these three nationwide credit repor...". So the bureau contact details are not in our source.

The three bureaus and the two protections

The three nationwide credit bureaus are Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. Get each one's phone number from its own website, not from a search ad or a message that reached you first.

In general terms, a fraud alert flags your file so businesses know to take extra care. A freeze restricts access to your report. Each bureau explains its own version, including how long each lasts, what it costs, if anything, and how to lift a freeze. The CFPB page we reviewed does not cover those points, so check the bureau's page before you decide.

There is also a third tool. Section 605B of the Fair Credit Reporting Act is titled Block of information resulting from identity theft. It deals with blocking fraudulent information from your file. We only had the section title, not its text. That means we cannot tell you here what it requires of a bureau, how fast, or in what form you must report.

What our sources do not tell us about phone reports

This is a limit of the research, not a finding that the law is silent. The regulation page we pulled, 12 CFR 1022.3 (Regulation V), only gave definitions and a table of contents. A fourth document was unreadable. So these questions went unanswered:

  • Whether a phone report is accepted for a fraud alert, a freeze, or a block of fraudulent information.
  • How many days a bureau has to act on a report.
  • What happens if a bureau refuses a block.
  • How to ask the bureau to notify the businesses that furnished the disputed information.

Federal rules likely answer several of these. Read the primary text of section 605B, or ask the bureau to point you to its written policy. Until you have that, do not assume that describing fraud to a phone representative will remove the entries. Treat the call as a first step and get the next one in writing.

How to prepare before you call

The CFPB says to use official phone numbers rather than numbers given to you by someone who contacts you. Confirm each bureau's number on its official website. Then gather your IdentityTheft.gov report and recovery plan, along with any police report number, before you dial.

Plan your questions in advance. These come straight from the gaps above:

  • Is a phone report accepted for a fraud alert, a freeze, or a block of fraudulent information?
  • What documents do you need to send, and how: mail, online or both?
  • Will you get written confirmation of every alert, freeze or block?
  • Will the bureau notify the businesses that reported the fraudulent accounts, or is that up to you?

Write down the date and time of the call. Note the agent's name or ID number and any reference number. A short log like this makes a later complaint to the CFPB or FTC much easier to support.

Red flags to watch for

People dealing with identity theft attract more scams. The CFPB page warns that scammers pose as the FTC and claim your information was used to open accounts. It says the FTC never threatens you, asks you to transfer money to protect it, or asks you to withdraw cash or buy gold.

It also says impostors have posed as the CFPB, other agencies, law enforcement, and banks or card providers. Be careful with any email, text or call claiming to be from your bank or card company. If someone contacts you first, hang up. Then find the institution's number on a statement or an official site and call it yourself.

You start the reporting. Nobody who calls out of the blue and asks for your Social Security number, a password or a fee has a legitimate reason to do so.

Please seek a professional. This article is general information, not financial, tax or insurance advice. Please seek a licensed financial, tax or insurance professional about your own situation.