A computer theft may have compromised my personal info. What does a Fraud Alert do and can it mess up credit?

Answer 1

A Fraud Alert registered with the three major credit agencies will not hurt your credit. Someone taking advantage of stolen information certainly can hurt your credit. So it's an easy choice.

I'm listing contact information for the credit agencies. I also recommend a free ebook on personal finance that has resources to help with identity theft among many other useful attributes. You can get it here - http://necessaryvirtues.com/go/4014/128

Experian
PO Box 9556
Allen TX 75013
888-397-3742
http://www.experian.com/

TransUnion
PO Box 2000
Chester, PA 19022-2000
800-888-4213
http://www.transunion.com/

Equifax Information Services
P O BOX 740256
Atlanta, GA 30374
800-997-2493
http://www.equifax.com/

Answer 2

A fraud alert can be placed with one of the three credit bureaus (which is then relayed to the other two bureaus), which means that, when someone requests credit information from a credit bureau, that bureau must notify you of that request and ask if you wish to have info released to that requestor.

The alert should not affect your credit rating. If anything, it's a safety guard against someone trying to request credit in your name, which could potentially destroy your credit rating.

My former employer and my local newspaper experienced ID theft incidents within the last year. I placed a fraud alert on my credit info, which entitled me to three months of credit monitoring and a free credit report. I also changed my CC number on the affected account, to ensure that no one could use the account.

Answer 3

won't mess up your credit; it will protect it, just cost you a small amount of money