What are trigger leads?

June marks National Home Ownership Month. And the Ohio Division of Financial Institutions is bringing awareness to a controversial aspect of the home-buying process. When applying for a mortgage loan, an applicant may experience calls from many loan lenders and insurance agencies this person did not previously contact. This is because of trigger leads, which are a marketing tool created by credit reporting agencies. The leads are created when a person applies for a loan and the loan lender checks the applicant's credit. Other lenders and insurance agencies may be alerted that the consumer is looking for a loan or credit. Lenders then contact consumers. Helpful and harmful Trigger leads may result in frequent phone calls from lenders that some may consider disruptive. Some may also consider it an invasion of privacy. Trigger leads may also be helpful to consumers by helping connect them with loans they wouldn't have previously known about. The trigger leads themselves do not affect a consumer's credit score. But frequent credit checks by lenders do. Opting out Consumers can take steps to prevent unwanted solicitations from loan lenders and insurance agencies. Visit optoutprescreen.com to stop contact from pre-screened offers. Call 1-888-567-8888 or visit donotcall.gov to place yourself on the National Do Not Call Registry.