A fraudster tried to get car loans using the speaker's details. Equifax's credit-alert service caught the unauthorized inquiry, and calling the lender immediately got it removed. Without that alert, the hit could have stayed on the file for years.
Has anyone had an unknown credit hit put on their file without them knowing? I have. Someone had somehow gotten some of my details, my company details, and was trying to apply for car loans. So it was a dodgy person trying to get a loan through on different details. The only way I found out is because I got a credit alert because I signed up for a credit alert service under Equifax. I pay $16 a month or whatever it is to have a membership to Equifax. And every time, if there's a hit on my credit record, I get notified. If it's happened straight away, I get on the phone going, hey, this just happened, this wasn't me. Like, if you do it straight away, you can get it handled very quickly. If it's there for 3 years, it's a lot more difficult, I can tell you that right now. So if you're a property investor, you protect your credit record like crazy.
