TransUnion Hawk Messages

HAWK^SM  Messages

HAWK Message

What Does It Mean?

Why Was It Generated?

Suggested Actions

Consumer Statement on File 
Relates to True Name Fraud or Credit Fraud

The consumer's file with TransUnion^SM contains a statement indicating that the consumer has been a victim of true name or credit fraud

  This consumer has been a victim of fraud.

  Applicant may be misusing another consumer's identity to obtain credit.

  Review Consumer Statement found at the end of the report.

  Contact consumer directly at the address / telephone number listed in the Consumer Statement before issuing credit.

Address ...    
SSN ...    
Telephone Number ...    

Reported Used in True Name or Credit Fraud 

Address, SSN, or Telephone Number matches an address or SSN or telephone number identified as used in a true name or credit fraud. 

  Applicant may be a victim of someone misusing his identity.

  Applicant may be misusing application information to create new identity or to obtain credit under another's legitimate identity.

  Applicant may be reusing information used in a previous fraud.

  Verify accuracy of operator input.

  Contact consumer using information on applicant.

  Verify other information of application.

• Employment
• Credit references from financial institutions or other creditors
• Pull ATLAS^SM report with neighbor information and contact neighbors.

SSN Used in Death Benefits Claim for John Consumer. DOB: 01/01/1950. DOC: 02/02/1990. Zip Code Where Benefits Were Paid is 60657, Most Likely Chicago, IL. Zip Code Last Residence is 60657, Most Likely Chicago, IL

Social Security Number invalid. SSN assigned to person reported deceased by Social Security Administration (SSA).    

DOB = Date of Birth    
DOC = Date of Claim 

  Surviving spouse receiving death benefits from SSA may be using SSN of decedent.

  Applicant may be using SSN to commit fraud under another person's identity or create new identity.

  Verify accuracy of operator input.

  Contact consumer using information on application.

• Verify that spouse is not using deceased spouse's SSN.

  Verify other information on application.

• Employment
• Credit references from financial institutions or other creditors

SSN Not Issued by the Social Security Administration

Social Security Number has not been issued by the Social Security Administration

  Applicant may be using Canadian SSN equivalent.

  Applicant may be using Employer Identification Number issued by the IRS in place of a valid SSN.

  Applicant may be using SSN to create a new identity.

  Verify accuracy of operator input.

  Contact consumer using information on application.

  Verify other information on application.

• Employment
• Credit references from financial institutions or other creditors

SSN Issued Within the Last (2,5,10) Years; Year Issued: 1992-1993; State: HI, (est. Age Obtained: 16 to 18)

Social Security Number has been issued within the range shown in the message, either in the last 2, 5, or 10 years.  

Estimated Age Obtained is calculated by comparing the year(s) issued to a date of birth included on input or found on a file.  The estimate may be a negative number.

  Applicant may be a recent immigrant to the United States.

  Applicant may be using Canadian SSN equivalent.

  Applicant may be using Employer Identification Number issued by the IRS in place of a valid SSN.

  Applicant may be using a minor's SSN.

  Applicant may be using SSN to create a new identity.

  Negative estimated age obtained may indicate misuse of an SSN.

  Verify accuracy of operator input.

  Compare Date of Birth on application to Estimated Age Obtained.

• Check for negative number indicating an SSN was issued before date of birth.
• Check for recent year issued and year range selected (2, 5, or 10).  May indicate use of minor's SSN or an SSN issued late in life.

  Verify other information on application.

• Employment
• Credit references from financial institutions or other creditors

SSN Issued: 1965-1966; State: IL, (Est. Age Obtained: 14 to 16)

Social Security Number has been issued within the range shown in the message.  

Estimated Age Obtained is calculated by comparing the year(s) issued to a date of birth included on input or found on  a file.  The estimate may be a negative number.

  Applicant may be a recent immigrant to the United States.

  Applicant may be using Canadian SSN equivalent.

  Applicant may be using Employer Identification Number issued by the IRS in place of a valid SSN.

  Applicant may be using a minor's SSN.

  Applicant may be using SSN to create a new identity.

  Negative estimated age obtained may indicate misuse of an SSN.

  Verify accuracy of operator input.

  Compare Date of Birth on application to Estimated Age Obtained.

• Check for negative number indicating an SSN was issued before date of birth.
• Check for recent year issued.  May indicate use of minor's SSN or an SSN issued late in life.

  Verify other information on application.

• Employment
• Credit references from financial institutions or other creditors

Address is a ...  
  

  Mail Receiving Service

  Hotel/Motel/Temporary Residence

  Credit Correction Service

  Camp Site

  Secretarial Service

  Check Cashing Service

  Restaurant/Bar/Nightclub

  Storage Facility

  Airport/Airfield

  Truck Stop

  Commercial

Address matches a list of commercial, non-residential addresses on the HAWK^SM database.

  Applicant may be in temporary residence.

  Applicant may be an employee or resident at commercial site.

  Applicant may be misusing application information to create new identity or to obtain credit under another's legitimate identity.

  Verify accuracy of operator input.

  Verify address through other sources, e.g. White Pages, directory assistance, etc.

  Verify other information on application.

• Telephone number: Contact applicant at telephone number.
• Employment
• Credit references from financial institutions or other creditors

Address is a ...  
  

  Correction Institution

  Hospital or Clinic

  Institutional

Address matches a list of commercial, non-residential addresses on the HAWK^SM database.

  Applicant may be in temporary residence or incarcerated.

  Applicant may be an employee or resident at residential institution.

  Applicant may be misusing application information to create new identity or to obtain credit under another's legitimate identity.

  Verify accuracy of operator input.

  Verify address through other sources, e.g. White Pages, directory assistance, etc.

  Verify other information on application.

• Telephone number: Contact applicant at telephone number.
• Employment
  Credit references from financial institutions or other creditors

Address is a ...  

U.S. Post Office  
Governmental

Address matches a list of commercial, non-residential addresses on the HAWK^SM database.

  Applicant may be renting a P.O. Box.

  Applicant may be in temporary residence or an employee at a governmental site.

  Applicant may be misusing governmental address to create new identity or to obtain credit under another's legitimate identity.

  Verify accuracy of operator input.

  Verify address through other sources, e.g. White Pages, directory assistance, etc.

  Verify other information on application.

• Telephone number: Contact applicant at telephone number.
• Employment
• Credit references from financial institutions or other creditors

SSN is Reported Deceased

Social Security Number associated with a deceased person

  Applicant may be using SSN to commit fraud under another person's identity or to create new identity

  Verify accuracy of operator input.

  Contact consumer using information on application.

  Verify other information on application.

• Employment
• Credit references from financial institutions or other creditors

Input Address has been Used # Times in the Last (30,60,90) Days 

Input SSN has been Used # Times in the Last (30,60,90) Days

The address or SSN was used on multiple TransUnion^SM

inquiries within the listed time frame.

  Applicant may be applying for new credit

  Members of the applicant's household may be applying for credit

  Someone other than the applicant may be using the address/SSN to commit a fraud.

  Confirm recent credit activity with consumer

  Look for discrepancies between the two messages:

• If the address counter is larger than the SSN counter, verify if other members of the applicant's household have recently applied for credit.
• If the SSN counter is larger than the address counter, contact applicant.  Applicant may be a fraud victim.

  Compare to Inquiry section of the Credit Report

• If all numbers are equal, applicant may be legitimately attempting to increase his/her amount of credit.
• Look for inquiries which have not generated new trade lines.

Address, SSN, or Telephone Number Reported by More Than One Source

More than one subscriber has previously reported at least on of the input or file elements as suspicious.

  Applicant may have been a victim of an account takeover

  A fraud perpetrator may have used some of the input or file information to fraudulently obtain credit

  Applicant may be attempting to obtain credit fraudulently

  Verify accuracy of operator input.

  Evaluate other HAWK-ALERT^SM

messages; proceed with recommended action given under those messages.

Note: generally, this message will appear in conjunction with other HAWK -ALERT^SM messages, and will provide a stronger indication of potential fraud.

Input Address(es), SSN, and/or Telephone Number Reported Together in Suspected Misuse

At least two of the input elements were used together previously in suspected or confirmed fraud.

  Applicant may have been a victim of an account takeover

  Applicant may be attempting to obtain credit fraudulently

  Verify accuracy of operator input.

  Contact applicant; attempt to determine if applicant has previously been a victim of fraud.

Address has been Reported More Than Once (up to 10 unit #s or POB #s can be appended to the message)

The address is a multi-unit building or a rural route, and the address has previously been reported to HAWK^SM as questionable.

  Same street address reported to HAWK^SM with more than one apt. # or POB #.

  Verify accuracy of operator input.

  Contact consumer and verify information

  Examine unit numbers / POB numbers appended to end of message, looking for possible fraud trends.

Input SSN Associated with Additional Subject(s) Not Displayed or Returned

The TransUnion^SM

database links the input SSN to more than one consumer's file.

  Person other than the applicant may have used this SSN improperly

  Applicant may have intentionally used the SSN in fraudulent activity.

  Verify accuracy of operator input.

  Are other HAWK^SM messages provided?

• Look for inconsistencies (e.g. SSN Used in Death Benefits Claim message will indicated the decedent's name)

  Contact consumer and verify application information.

  Pull a TransUnion^SM

TRACE^SM or TRACEplus^SM  report for a full list of all consumers linked to the SSN on the TransUnion^SM database.

Address ...    
SSN ...    
Telephone Number ...    

Requires Further Investigation

Address/SSN/Telephone Number matches information on the HAWK^SM database.

  Applicant may be a victim of someone misusing his identity 

  Applicant may be misusing application information to create new identity or to obtain credit under another's legitimate identity

  Verify accuracy of operator input.

  Contact consumer using information on application.

  Verify address through other sources, e.g. White Pages, directory assistance, etc.

  Verify other information on application.

• Employment
• Credit references from financial institutions or other creditors

Address is a Multi-Unit Building

Address matches address of multi-unit building, such as an apartment building address, on the HAWK^SM database.

  Applicant may be a victim of someone misusing his identity 

  Applicant may be misusing application information to create new identity or to obtain credit under another's legitimate identity

  Verify accuracy of operator input.

  Contact consumer using information on application.

  Verify address through other sources, e.g. White Pages, directory assistance, etc.

  Verify other information on application.

• Employment
• Credit references from financial institutions or other creditors

SSN May Have Been Issued in Error

SSN may have been issued to more than one person. SSN may have been assigned to one region, but issued in another region

  Applicant may be misusing application information to create new identity or to obtain credit under another's legitimate identity

  Verify accuracy of operator input.

  Contact consumer using information on application.

  Verify address through other sources, e.g. White Pages, directory assistance, etc.

  Verify other information on application.

• Employment
• Credit references from financial institutions or other creditors

Clear for All Searches Performed

None of the processed HAWK^SM searches generated an indication of potential fraud.

  Continue processing the application.

Telephone Number is a(n)... 

  Answering Service

  Cellular Telephone

  Public/Pay Telephone

  Commercial

  Institutional

  Governmental

Telephone Number matches a list of various non-residential telephone numbers on the HAWK^SM database.

  Applicant may be in temporary residence.

  Applicant may be misusing nonresidential telephone number to create new identity or to obtain credit under another's legitimate identity.

  Verify accuracy of operator input.

  Contact consumer using information on application.

  Verify address through other sources, e.g. White Pages, directory assistance, etc.

  Verify other information on application.

• Employment
• Credit references from financial institutions or other creditors

Address ... 
SSN ... 
Telephone Number ... 

Reported Misused and Requires Further Investigation 

Address/SSN/Telephone Number matches address or SSN or telephone number on HAWK^SM file reported used in a potential or known fraud.

  Applicant may be a victim of someone misusing his identity.

  Applicant may be misusing application information to create new identity or to obtain credit under another's legitimate identity.

  Verify accuracy of operator input.

  Contact consumer using information on application.

  Verify address through other sources, e.g. White Pages, directory assistance, etc.

  Verify other information on application.

• Employment
• Credit references from financial institutions or other creditors

Address is a Multi-Unit Building Reported Misused and Requires Further Investigation

Address matches multi-unit building address, such as an apartment building address, on HAWK^SM file reported used in a potential or known fraud.

  Applicant may be a victim of someone misusing his identity.

  Applicant may be misusing application information to create new identity or to obtain credit under another's legitimate identity.

  Verify accuracy of operator input.

  Contact consumer using information on application.

  Verify address through other sources, e.g. White Pages, directory assistance, etc.

  Verify other information on application.

• Employment
• Credit references from financial institutions or other creditors

Address ... 
SSN ... 
Telephone Number ... 

Reported as Suspicious 

Address/SSN/Telephone Number matches address, SSN or telephone number on HAWK^SM file that could not be verified when it was used on a previous application.

  Applicant may be a victim of someone misusing his identity.

  Applicant may be misusing application information to create new identity or to obtain credit under another's legitimate identity.

  Verify accuracy of operator input.

  Contact consumer using information on application.

  Verify address through other sources, e.g. White Pages, directory assistance, etc.

  Verify other information on application.

• Employment
• Credit references from financial institutions or other creditors

Address is a Multi-Unit Building Reported as Suspicious

Address matches multi-unit building address on HAWK^SM file, such as an apartment building address, that could not be verified when it was used on a previous application.

  Applicant may be a victim of someone misusing his identity.

  Applicant may be misusing application information to create new identity or to obtain credit under another's legitimate identity.

  Verify accuracy of operator input.

  Contact consumer using information on application.

  Verify address through other sources, e.g. White Pages, directory assistance, etc.

  Verify other information on application.

• Employment
• Credit references from financial institutions or other creditors.