If there are unrecognised accounts showing on your credit report, follow these steps to determine whether they are fraudulent:
1. Search for the company name on a search engine - Some banks/lenders share their information with credit reference agencies using a different trading name, do a quick internet search could rule out any concerns about fraud.
2. Check the opening date and payment history of the account - This could provide you with an indication of which of your accounts this may be. It’s not uncommon to see an old account suddenly appear on your credit report, which could be confusing.
3. Check the account number displayed on the account - If it doesn’t match any of your financial accounts, you can raise a dispute with Equifax. They’ll be able to investigate this for you.
4. Contact the bank/lender immediately - They will be able to stop any money being taken from your account, freeze your card and start a fraud investigation.
If there are unrecognised searches appearing on your credit report, it could be because you browsed your ‘offers’ section.
These searches are quotation searches and some will look something like:
- HDD-PRICE COMPARISON-BARCLAYCARD for Credit File Request
- CAPITAL ONE (EUROPE) PLC for Credit Quotation
- CLEARSCORE SEARCH POWERED BY CAPITAL ONE for Credit Quotation
- OAKBROOK FINANCE LTD for Credit Quotation
- CARFINANCE247 LTD for Credit Quotation
- AVANTCREDIT for Id Check To Comply With ML Regs
- LIVELEND (also known as BetterBorrow) for Credit Quotation
If you’d still like further information about the unrecognised searches on your credit report, you can raise a dispute with Equifax.