Choose a credit freeze or fraud alert after suspected identity misuse Online & Privacy Oregon preparation and procedure guide Source review: 2026-10-18 Scope: Shared Oregon or applicable federal procedure; confirm local requirements Official explanation of freezes and fraud alerts, including different bureau-contact steps and alert durations. Who this route is for People considering the named complaint, review or assistance route; the agency must confirm jurisdiction and individual applicability. Timing and notices FTC says a freeze lasts until lifted and an initial fraud alert lasts one year, renewable. Act promptly after suspected misuse and check separate recovery/reporting steps. Prepare (conditional documents may have alternatives) [ ] Official credit-bureau contact links [ ] Safe contact method and identity documents kept outside the navigator [ ] Affected reports/accounts and suspicious communications [ ] Need for a future authorized credit check How to proceed 1. Read the FTC distinction between a freeze and an alert. 2. Contact all three bureaus for a freeze or one bureau for an initial fraud alert, following current identity-verification steps. 3. Keep confirmations and any lifting instructions securely; plan for legitimate credit checks. 4. If identity theft has occurred, use the official recovery route and dispute existing fraudulent accounts separately. Open official instructions: https://consumer.ftc.gov/articles/credit-freezes-and-fraud-alerts Limits: Official source navigation reviewed on 2026-10-18. Confirm current agency coverage, accepted form, submission route and the actual notice or event dates. No personal deadline, eligibility, legal violation, remedy, representation or filing-readiness determination is made. A freeze and alert have different effects and do not replace disputing existing fraudulent accounts. No bureau request or identity-theft report is created by the navigator. FTC direct HTTPS returned 404; retained FTC evidence is the web tool extract, whose hash does not certify publisher response bytes. Publisher sources FTC Credit Freezes and Fraud Alerts [web-extracted text; hash covers extract only] https://consumer.ftc.gov/articles/credit-freezes-and-fraud-alerts Evidence type: official-web-tool-html-extract SHA-256: 0497f4dbc638b1361b2625ad597076abdcf6d6e5d9b97b868d5b739b04f71c0c This site helps you prepare. It does not submit filings, calculate personal deadlines, decide eligibility or replace professional review. A complaint or help request does not pause another case or deadline. Start here Read the FTC distinction between a freeze and an alert. Where and how to submit Requests go to the credit bureaus using the official links in the FTC article; this navigator does not store credentials or perform the request. https://consumer.ftc.gov/articles/credit-freezes-and-fraud-alerts What will it cost? FTC says placing and lifting a freeze and placing a fraud alert are free. Optional commercial monitoring is a separate product. After submission Confirm each requested freeze/alert and retain secure records. Review reports for accounts that already exist. Corrections, denials and appeals A freeze does not fix existing report errors or submit an identity-theft report. Extended alerts have additional documentation requirements. Language, disability and offline help Use the bureau’s current assistance routes and request accessible or language help where needed. Additional workflow sources (reviewed 2026-10-18) FTC Credit Freezes and Fraud Alerts [web-extracted text; hash covers extract only] https://consumer.ftc.gov/articles/credit-freezes-and-fraud-alerts SHA-256: 0497f4dbc638b1361b2625ad597076abdcf6d6e5d9b97b868d5b739b04f71c0c