Protecting Your Credit With: TransUnion

1. TransUnion's Products and Services
2. TransUnion Fraud Alerts
3. TransUnion Credit Freezes

TransUnion was founded in 1968 as a holding company for the Union Tank Car Company, a company that leased rail cars to other businesses. The following year, the Credit Bureau of Cook County acquired TransUnion, which maintained over 3.6 million credit accounts. Since then, TransUnion has grown and now aggregates information on over 1 billion consumers in over 30 countries and has over 65,000 business customers.

Of the top three credit agencies, which include Experian and Equifax, TransUnion is the smallest. Its principal business is credit reporting, using both the credit and public records of individuals to create a comprehensive picture of the financial state of consumers. It also provides many other products and services related to credit.

Contact Details

TransUnion

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• General Enquiries
• Report Fraud

Phone: (833) 395-6938
Website: https://www.transunion.com/

Phone: (800) 680-7289

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TransUnion's Products and Services

TransUnion provides over 100 products and services for consumers, businesses, and the public sector.

Credit Reporting

TransUnion uses a formula called VantageScore 3.0 to generate a credit score that helps companies determine whether a consumer is a good credit risk. To come up with your credit score, TransUnion compiles information about your credit and financial history. Some factors that go into a credit score include:

• How often you apply for credit
• How much of your credit you use
• How long you have had credit
• If you pay bills on time
• What types of credit you use

This score can range from 300 to 850. Here is how that score relates to a credit grade scale:

• 781-850: A
• 720-780: B
• 658-719: C
• 601-657: D
• 300-600: F

By law, TransUnion must also provide consumers with one free credit report a year upon request. They can only provide your credit report to a business when you give them permission, for example, when you sign up for a new credit card or car loan.

Credit Monitoring

TransUnion also provides services to help you manage your credit. TransUnion Credit Monitoring is available for a monthly fee and includes the following services:

• Identity Theft Protection: You get access to an ID theft hotline and ID theft insurance with a subscription.
• CreditCompass: This feature will give you tips on how to improve your credit score by changing parts of your credit history.
• Credit Lock Plus: This feature will allow you to lock and unlock your credit report with TransUnion and Experian.
• Credit Score Simulator: With this feature, you can test how your credit score will change if you sign up for more credit accounts or make other changes to your finances.
• Credit Protection: Get emails each time a business pulls your credit report to help prevent any fraudulent accounts from being created in your name.

TrueIdentity

TrueIdentity is a free app that helps protect your identity and provides you with information on your credit report. With TrueIdentity, you can:

• Lock your TransUnion report
• Sign up for credit alerts (so you know if your credit report changes in any way)
• View your TransUnion report any time you like

TransUnion Fraud Alerts

Creating a fraud alert is an option for anyone who suspects that they have become victims of fraud or identity theft. It doesn't prevent anyone from viewing your credit report, but it notifies anyone checking your credit that they have to take extra steps to verify your identity.

Creating a fraud alert with TransUnion is simple, free, and will not affect your credit rating. There are three types of fraud alerts you can set up.

• Initial: This type of fraud alert is a good option if you think you may be the victim of identity theft or fraud. This alert will last for one year.
• Extended: This type of fraud alert lasts for seven years. You won't be able to create this type of fraud alert online because you will have to provide documents to prove your identity and confirm identity theft. But it is a good option if you are sure you are the victim of identity theft and have documented proof.
• Active Duty Military: This type of fraud alert is only for eligible military personnel worried about identity theft or fraud and lasts for one year.

If you create a fraud alert online, it will show up on your credit report the same day you place it.

TransUnion Credit Freezes

Freezing your credit protects your credit even more than creating a fraud alert. Freezing your credit will keep the sensitive data in your credit history from being accessed without your consent.

If you don't plan on applying for a credit card or loan, then freezing your credit is an excellent option to choose. If you think that your data may be at risk from a data breach or something similar, then you should freeze your credit, especially if your Social Security number was compromised. Once you freeze your credit, scammers can't use your credit identity to open new accounts using your name—but neither will you until you unfreeze it.

Freezing your credit with TransUnion is a free, straightforward process that can be done online. You'll need to create a TransUnion account, so you can easily unfreeze it when you need to apply for credit.

You can also freeze your credit with TransUnion by mail or phone if you don't want to create a TransUnion account. However, freezing your credit by mail is not recommended because it takes the longest time, and your information could be compromised when sending it.