70. What Is This OFAC Information On My Credit Report?

Credit bureaus and agencies in particular have adopted new measures to ensure compliance with OFAC regulations. Before issuing a credit report, they use screening software to determine if a credit applicant is on OFAC's Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) list or one of OFAC's other sanctions lists. This software matches the credit applicant's name and other information to the names on OFAC's sanctions lists. If there is a potential match, the credit bureaus may place a "red flag" or alert on the report. This does not necessarily mean that someone is illegally using your social security number or that you have bad credit. It is merely a reminder to the person checking your credit that he or she should verify whether you are the individual on one of OFAC's sanctions lists by comparing your information to the OFAC information. If you are not the individual on the sanctions list, the person checking your credit should disregard the OFAC alert, and there is no need to contact OFAC. However, if the person checking your credit believes you are the person on one of OFAC's sanctions lists, then he or she should call the OFAC Hotline to verify and report it.