 TITLE: What Is an Extended Fraud Alert? CONTENT: What Is the Difference Between a Fraud Alert and a Credit Freeze?\n-----------------------------------------------------------------\nThose who have had their personal data stolen and used by fraudsters sometimes consider a credit freeze.\nA credit freeze, or security freeze, is another form of fraud protection sometimes used by consumers who have been repeated victims of identity theft. While a fraud alert asks creditors who view your credit report to verify your identity before approving credit, a security freeze prohibits potential new creditors from accessing your credit report at all. If you need to apply for credit yourself, you'll need to lift or thaw the freeze before you apply. In some cases, you may be able to obtain a single-use PIN to provide to your lender so that they can access your report on a one-time basis.\nCredit freezes must be set up separately at each of the national credit bureaus. When you request a freeze, you may be supplied with or asked to create a PIN or password to use when thawing your report. To lift a credit freeze, each bureau must be notified separately. It costs nothing to activate or lift a credit freeze, and each freeze lasts indefinitely—it has no expiration date.\nLenders may work with any combination of the national credit bureaus when checking your credit history and credit scores, so individuals with credit freezes in place typically must thaw their credit at all three bureaus any time they apply for credit. For this reason, a fraud alert may be more preferable to freezing your reports. END