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Victim Of Impersonation

Victim of Impersonation is one of the two Cifas Case Types that you can see on your Credit Report and which are also reported to all members of Cifas.

A Victim of Impersonation warning will be registered at Cifas if you have been the victim of an identity fraud attempt, usually after a lender receives a fraudulent application in your name. The fraud warning will be filed for your own protection and won’t have a negative impact on your creditworthiness.

While a Victim of Impersonation warning is protecting your identity, lenders should undertake additional security checks to verify any applications they receive in your details. Because of this, you may experience slight delays when lenders process your applications.

How can I tell if I’ve been a Victim of Impersonation?

If a lender has filed a Victim of Impersonation warning in your name with Cifas, it will appear on your Credit Report in the Fraud Warnings section, once Cifas has shared the information with the UK Credit Reference Agencies.

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You’ll get access to your Multi Agency Credit Report, which shows your full information from each Credit Reference Agency, including any recorded fraud warnings.

How do I remove a Victim of Impersonation from my Credit Report?

A Victim of Impersonation marker will be removed automatically from your Credit Report 13 months after the date of submission. If you are looking to dispute a Victim of Impersonation marker, you may wish to contact the lender that recorded it in the first instance. You can find the lender name on your Credit Report.

Protective fraud warnings such as Victim of Impersonation serve only to help you, so there shouldn’t be a need to prematurely remove the warning. One of the only drawbacks of having Victim of Impersonation on your Credit Report is that, because your credit applications require manual assessment, the application process itself may take a bit longer.

Do Cifas markers affect my Credit Score?

Cifas markers, including Victim of Impersonation, are not included in the calculation of your Credit Score, so they have no direct effect. Lenders also do not consider fraud warnings to be harmful markers when assessing your creditworthiness, so you shouldn’t be refused credit based on any Cifas information on your Credit Report.

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