What law requires Consumer Reporting Agencies to maintain a fraud alert for 7 years if a police report is filed?

The Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACTA) is the law that mandates Consumer Reporting Agencies to place a fraud alert on a consumer's credit file for 7 years if the consumer has filed a police report indicating that they are a victim of identity theft. This provision is designed to help protect consumers from further unauthorized use of their credit information after they have been affected by identity theft.

FACTA amended the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) and introduced several consumer protection measures, including the ability for consumers to obtain free credit reports and the ability to place fraud alerts on their credit files. While the FCRA governs how credit reporting agencies should handle consumers' credit information, it is FACTA that specifically addresses the length of time fraud alerts must remain active when a police report has been filed.

This distinction is critical for understanding consumer protection laws related to credit and identity theft, as it highlights the specific frameworks and measures enacted to assist victims. Other acts mentioned, like the Identity Theft Protection Act and the Consumer Credit Protection Act, may address related issues but do not specifically stipulate the same fraud alert requirements as FACTA does.