Protection
Protecting a credit file against fraud
The controls are free, quick to set up and almost never used until after something has happened.
These are listed in the order worth acting on, which with credit fraud protection is not the order they are usually presented in.
What matters most
- Protective registration and file freezes exist in many jurisdictions and are inexpensive or free.
- Fraudulent applications appear as searches on your file before they appear as debts.
- Checking your file periodically catches problems while they are small.
Searches are the early warning
A fraudulent application creates a hard search on your file before any account appears. Reviewing searches periodically is the cheapest available detection method and takes minutes. An application you do not recognise is worth querying immediately rather than waiting to see what happens.
Registration and freezes
Protective registration flags a file so lenders carry out additional identity checks before granting credit. Some jurisdictions offer a full freeze, blocking new credit until you lift it. Both slow down your own legitimate applications slightly, which is the entire point.
Financial association is a route in
A stale association with a former partner or housemate can expose you to their circumstances and vice versa. Breaking obsolete associations reduces both fraud exposure and lending confusion. This has to be applied for; it does not lapse on its own.
Practical hygiene
Redirect post when moving, shred documents containing account numbers, and treat unexpected calls about your accounts as suspicious by default. Most identity fraud starts with ordinary information rather than a sophisticated breach. Unique passwords and two-factor authentication on email matter most, because email is the reset route to everything else.
If it happens
Report to the lender and the agency, obtain a reference number, and request the fraudulent entries be suppressed while investigated. You are generally not liable for debts taken fraudulently in your name, though proving it takes time and persistence. Keep a dated written record of every call, because the process is long and the burden of narrative falls on you.
Everything above, in order of what to do first
- Searches are the early warning. A fraudulent application creates a hard search on your file before any account appears.
- Registration and freezes. Protective registration flags a file so lenders carry out additional identity checks before granting credit.
- Financial association is a route in. A stale association with a former partner or housemate can expose you to their circumstances and vice versa.
- Practical hygiene. Redirect post when moving, shred documents containing account numbers, and treat unexpected calls about your accounts as suspicious by default.
- If it happens. Report to the lender and the agency, obtain a reference number, and request the fraudulent entries be suppressed while investigated.
The takeaway
Read the searches section of your file. It shows attempted fraud before the debts arrive.
The version you keep doing is the version that works.
Questions readers ask
Is paid credit monitoring worth it?
The underlying file access is often available free or cheaply from the agencies. Paid monitoring mainly buys alerts and convenience.
Does a freeze affect my existing accounts?
No. It restricts new credit applications, not accounts you already hold.
