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Fair Credit Reporting Act
605A. Identity theft prevention; fraud alerts and active duty [15 U.S.C. 1681c]
(a) One-call Fraud Alerts
(1) Initial alerts. Upon the direct request of a consumer, or an individual acting
on behalf of or as a personal representative of a consumer, who asserts in good
faith a suspicion that the consumer has been or is about to become a victim of
fraud or related crime, including identity theft, a consumer reporting agency
described in section 603(p) that maintains a file on the consumer
and has received appropriate proof of the identity of the requester shall--
(A) include a fraud alert in the file of that consumer, and also provide that
alert along with any credit score generated in using that file, for a period
of not less than 90 days, beginning on the date of such request, unless the
consumer or such representative requests that such fraud alert be removed before
the end of such period, and the agency has received appropriate proof of the
identity of the requester for such purpose; and
(B) refer the information regarding the fraud alert under this paragraph to
each of the other consumer reporting agencies described in section
603(p), in accordance with procedures developed under section
621(f).
(2) Access to free reports. In any case in which a consumer reporting agency
includes a fraud alert in the file of a consumer pursuant to this subsection,
the consumer reporting agency shall--
(A) disclose to the consumer that the consumer may request a free copy of the
file of the consumer pursuant to section 612(d); and
(B) provide to the consumer all disclosures required to be made under section
609, without charge to the consumer, not later than 3 business days after
any request described in subparagraph (A).
(b) Extended Alerts
(1) In general. Upon the direct request of a consumer, or an individual acting
on behalf of or as a personal representative of a consumer, who submits an identity
theft report to a consumer reporting agency described in section
603(p) that maintains a file on the consumer, if the agency has received appropriate
proof of the identity of the requester, the agency shall--
(A) include a fraud alert in the file of that consumer, and also provide that
alert along with any credit score generated in using that file, during the 7-year
period beginning on the date of such request, unless the consumer or such representative
requests that such fraud alert be removed before the end of such period and
the agency has received appropriate proof of the identity of the requester for
such purpose;
(B) during the 5-year period beginning on the date of such request, exclude
the consumer from any list of consumers prepared by the consumer reporting agency
and provided to any third party to offer credit or insurance to the consumer
as part of a transaction that was not initiated by the consumer, unless the
consumer or such representative requests that such exclusion be rescinded before
the end of such period; and
(C) refer the information regarding the extended fraud alert under this paragraph
to each of the other consumer reporting agencies described in section
603(p), in accordance with procedures developed under section
621(f).
(2) Access to free reports. In any case in which a consumer reporting agency
includes a fraud alert in the file of a consumer pursuant to this subsection,
the consumer reporting agency shall--
(A) disclose to the consumer that the consumer may request 2 free copies of
the file of the consumer pursuant to section 612(d) during
the 12-month period beginning on the date on which the fraud alert was included
in the file; and (B) provide to the consumer all disclosures required to be
made under section 609, without charge to the consumer, not
later than 3 business days after any request described in subparagraph (A).
(c) Active duty alerts. Upon the direct request of an active duty military consumer,
or an individual acting on behalf of or as a personal representative of an active
duty military consumer, a consumer reporting agency described in section
603(p) that maintains a file on the active duty military consumer and has received
appropriate proof of the identity of the requester shall--
(1) include an active duty alert in the file of that active duty military consumer,
and also provide that alert along with any credit score generated in using that
file, during a period of not less than 12 months, or such longer period as the
Commission shall determine, by regulation, beginning on the date of the request,
unless the active duty military consumer or such representative requests that
such fraud alert be removed before the end of such period, and the agency has
received appropriate proof of the identity of the requester for such purpose;
(2) during the 2-year period beginning on the date of such request, exclude the
active duty military consumer from any list of consumers prepared by the consumer
reporting agency and provided to any third party to offer credit or insurance
to the consumer as part of a transaction that was not initiated by the consumer,
unless the consumer requests that such exclusion be rescinded before the end of
such period; and
(3) refer the information regarding the active duty alert to each of the other
consumer reporting agencies described in section 603(p), in
accordance with procedures developed under section 621(f)
. See also 16 CFR Part 613.1
69 Fed. Reg. 63922 (11/03/04)
(d) Procedures. Each consumer reporting agency described in
section
603(p)
shall establish policies and procedures to comply with this section,
including procedures that inform consumers of the availability of initial, extended,
and active duty alerts and procedures that allow consumers and active duty military
consumers to request initial, extended, or active duty alerts (as applicable) in
a simple and easy manner, including by telephone.
(e) Referrals of alerts. Each consumer reporting agency described in section
603(p) that receives a referral of a fraud alert or active duty alert from another
consumer reporting agency pursuant to this section shall, as though the agency received
the request from the consumer directly, follow the procedures required under--
(1) paragraphs (1)(A) and (2) of subsection (a), in the case of a referral under
subsection (a)(1)(B);
(2) paragraphs (1)(A), (1)(B), and (2) of subsection (b), in the case of a referral
under subsection (b)(1)(C); and
(3) paragraphs (1) and (2) of subsection (c), in the case of a referral under
subsection (c)(3).
(f) Duty of reseller to reconvey alert. A reseller shall include in its report
any fraud alert or active duty alert placed in the file of a consumer pursuant to
this section by another consumer reporting agency.
(g) Duty of other consumer reporting agencies to provide contact information. If
a consumer contacts any consumer reporting agency that is not described in section
603(p) to communicate a suspicion that the consumer has been or is about to
become a victim of fraud or related crime, including identity theft, the agency
shall provide information to the consumer on how to contact the Commission and the
consumer reporting agencies described in section 603(p) to obtain
more detailed information and request alerts under this section.
(h) Limitations on Use of Information for Credit Extensions
(1) Requirements for initial and active duty alerts-
(A) Notification. Each initial fraud alert and active duty alert under this
section shall include information that notifies all prospective users of a consumer
report on the consumer to which the alert relates that the consumer does not
authorize the establishment of any new credit plan or extension of credit, other
than under an open-end credit plan (as defined in section 103(i)), in the name
of the consumer, or issuance of an additional card on an existing credit account
requested by a consumer, or any increase in credit limit on an existing credit
account requested by a consumer, except in accordance with subparagraph (B).
(B) Limitation on Users
(i) In general. No prospective user of a consumer report that includes an
initial fraud alert or an active duty alert in accordance with this section
may establish a new credit plan or extension of credit, other than under an
open-end credit plan (as defined in section 103(i)), in the name of the consumer,
or issue an additional card on an existing credit account requested by a consumer,
or grant any increase in credit limit on an existing credit account requested
by a consumer, unless the user utilizes reasonable policies and procedures
to form a reasonable belief that the user knows the identity of the person
making the request.
(ii) Verification. If a consumer requesting the alert has specified a telephone
number to be used for identity verification purposes, before authorizing any
new credit plan or extension described in clause (i) in the name of such consumer,
a user of such consumer report shall contact the consumer using that telephone
number or take reasonable steps to verify the consumer's identity and confirm
that the application for a new credit plan is not the result of identity theft.
(2) Requirements for Extended Alerts
(A) Notification. Each extended alert under this section shall include information
that provides all prospective users of a consumer report relating to a consumer
with–
(i) notification that the consumer does not authorize the establishment of
any new credit plan or extension of credit described in clause (i), other
than under an open-end credit plan (as defined in section 103(i)), in the
name of the consumer, or issuance of an additional card on an existing credit
account requested by a consumer, or any increase in credit limit on an existing
credit account requested by a consumer, except in accordance with subparagraph
(B); and
(ii) a telephone number or other reasonable contact method designated by
the consumer.
(B) Limitation on users. No prospective user of a consumer report or of a credit
score generated using the information in the file of a consumer that includes
an extended fraud alert in accordance with this section may establish a new
credit plan or extension of credit, other than under an open-end credit plan
(as defined in section 103(i)), in the name of the consumer, or issue an additional
card on an existing credit account requested by a consumer, or any increase
in credit limit on an existing credit account requested by a consumer, unless
the user contacts the consumer in person or using the contact method described
in subparagraph (A)(ii) to confirm that the application for a new credit plan
or increase in credit limit, or request for an additional card is not the result
of identity theft.
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Fair Credit Reporting Act: FCRA Requirements relating to information contained in consumer reports
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