Late last night, one of our members got a jarring alert from the credit union’s Credit Sense tool:
Someone had just run a credit check on him.
Odd. That sinking feeling set in almost instantly. What was going on? He hadn’t applied for credit anywhere.
He opened the credit union mobile app, tapped “View Credit Score,” and there it was, clear as day. One of the major credit card companies had pulled his credit report. Something was wrong.
Without wasting a second, he picked up the phone, called the company, and learned the truth: someone had submitted a fraudulent credit card application in his name. Thankfully, they were able to cancel it on the spot. Only then did he take the extra precaution of freezing his credit with all three credit reporting agencies.
Had he not received that alert, things could have gone very differently. That fake credit card account would have been opened, a balance could have been maxed out in days, and his credit score would have taken a painful hit.
The good news? This whole situation was preventable. You can take two simple steps right now to protect yourself:
- Sign up for (or check) Credit Sense in our app or online banking by clicking “View Your Credit Score.”
- Freeze your credit with all three credit bureaus:
And in case you’re wondering who our quick-thinking member was… let’s just say our CEO’s husband got a little late-night fraud-prevention crash course—plus some very pointed follow-up advice!