What are trigger leads and how can I protect myself?

Trigger leads are consumer credit inquiries sold by credit bureaus to other lenders after you apply for a mortgage, often resulting in unwanted calls and offers. They occur because credit bureaus legally sell inquiry data to companies that meet all legal conditions, and regulators believe this promotes competition.

You can’t fully stop trigger leads, but you can reduce them by opting out of prescreened offers at optoutprescreen.com and registering your number on the National Do Not Call Registry.