I am refinancing -can I place a Fraud Alert? (loans, credit report, loan)

[lovebug11768]

Hello - I am almost done refinancing my residence. We should go to closing within a few weeks. I found out today that my SS# and other personal information may have been stolen by scammers. I want to place an initial 90 day fraud alert with the 3 credit reporting agencies. Will this cause problems with my re-fi? Will it delay the process? I want to close ASAP and do not want to go through a bunch of red tape with the bank. Any suggestions?

[MikeBear]

Unless your mortgage is completely done and ready to fund, I would NOT place a fraud alert on your accounts. If you do so, you'll cause a problem.

Discuss it with your banker or mortgage broker first, and see what they say.

[serino78]

I went through the same thing and underwriting was almost denied because they could not pull my credit.

I had to open my credit up to the bank. Transunion, equifax and experian set up a code they could use to access my credit report.

If you are really worried about funding I dont know if you want to go through that hassle. Just keep a tight look on your credit until refi is over and close it up after.

[SmartMoney]

A fraud alert puts up a firewall between your information and anyone seeking information, including inquiries directed by you. Most loans require a pre-close softpull, checking for new credit and/or increased balances. A fraud alert will shut that down, as well. Most lenders do the soft pull 3-5 days prior to close.