However, any fraudulent loans or credit cards taken in your name can bring your score down. Even if you pay your other credit card bills and loan EMIs on time, it is possible that you won’t see much improvement in your score due to fake loans that you are not quite aware of.
So, if you see your credit score dropping without any major changes in your credit behaviour, there’s a possibility of a fraudulent loan taken in your name. Fake loans may be the result of identity theft, data breaches where your PAN card information and other data were leaked or stolen, or due to a number of other scams.
No matter how it happened, if these loans are mentioned in your credit report, your credit score suffers. If you ever encounter this situation, do not panic. Checking your credit report frequently helps in early detection. Check out the steps below to report frauds like these directly to CIBIL within minutes online.
What to do if you Identify Credit Card/Loan Fraud
The only way to track any credit-related fraud in your name is by checking your CIBIL report frequently and thoroughly. Here’s more on the actions you need to take when you detect fraudulent activity:
● Raise a Dispute as Soon as You Spot it: While monitoring your credit report, if you see a wrong entry in your name, take charge of reporting it immediately. All credit bureaus allow you to report fake entries or loans in your credit report. Since delays in reporting fraudulent loans can create issues, it’s best to act quickly.
● Follow up: If you raise a dispute with the lender or with CIBIL, it is important to follow up and take note of the process to set things right. This will help you ensure that the wrong entry is removed from your report and you are not liable for financial damages. It will also help improve your credit score.
● Check Wrong Entries in Your Credit Report: Another thing to consider checking is that all your personal details (name, address and more) in your credit report are accurate. If they are not, then the chances of such instances increase as these loans may be linked to someone else’s profile. This mismatch can cause more issues in future.
How to Report a Fake Loan in Your Name
On identifying loans not taken by you in your credit report from CIBIL, follow the steps below.
Inform the Lending Institution
Once you spot an error or fraud in your CIBIL report, the first step is to contact the lending institution. The name of the lender is always visible with the loan details taken in your name. Immediately call or email the lender and inform the customer care about the same. If this mistake happened at their end, it may be resolved quickly.
However, if it is not from the lender’s side, you must raise a complaint and take note of your complaint number. Provide them with screenshots of the fraud in the report. Once done, you will get a complaint number that will help you report this fraud to CIBIL and acknowledge the communication with the lender.
Raise a CIBIL Dispute for Correction
After you have informed the lender about the fraudulent loan, file a complaint with the credit bureau. You can do this by simply logging into the CIBIL website and raising a dispute with relevant documents. Follow these steps:
● Navigate to the official CIBIL website and log into your account
● Navigate to the complaints tab and select ‘Raise a complaint’
● Mention the issue clearly and attach all relevant documents like the CIBIL report and screenshots
● Submit your request
After successfully submitting the request, you will be provided with a follow-up number to track your complaint status. CIBIL will communicate with the lender and provide a resolution to your issue. If your complaint is accepted, corrections will be made to your report. If your complaint is rejected, the status will be updated in your CIBIL dashboard.
Get CIBIL Alerts
Further, you can opt to get alerts directly from CIBIL. This will help you analyse any fraudulent activity or corrective steps with ease. You can sign up for email or SMS alerts to receive a notification if:
● Your CIBIL score changes
● Your personal information is updated
● Your utilisation ratio changes
● Any new enquires are listed
● Any lender checks your score upon receiving your loan or credit card application
How OneScore Helps in Reporting Fraud Loans
With the OneScore App on your mobile, you can instantly identify and report any fraudulent activity in your credit report effortlessly. To do so, check out the steps below:
● Open the OneScore app and sign in
● Review your credit report and check all your credit accounts and personal information
● If you see an error, navigate to the section ‘Report an error’
● From this page, you will be redirected to a new window, opening the CIBIL website
● Login to the CIBIL dashboard and click on dispute resolution
● Fill in the form and attach any relevant documents depicting a fraud loan/credit in your name
● Click on Submit and wait for a summary of your issue to pop up
● Confirm and save the follow-up number to keep track of your dispute
With the OneScore App, monitoring fraud loans or cards in your name is easy as you can see all your credit accounts listed on one platform. Since this app helps you check your credit score and report for free, you can ensure you do this every few months to ensure that fraud is not affecting your credit health.
Apart from this perk, OneScore also helps you get an instant personal loan and improves your score with personalised insights. All these features are available to you at your fingertips without any membership fee for a lifetime!
With zero ads and spam, this app protects your data and never shares it with third parties. This way, you can check your score anytime to maintain good credit health with ease. Once you reach your desired score, you can easily apply for a personal quick loan of up to ₹5 lakhs on the app. Download the app today to manage your credit health like a pro.
