How to Freeze Your Credit Report and Avoid Identity Theft

When you freeze your credit record, it becomes more difficult for fraudsters to take out loans or other forms of credit in your name.

With growing concerns about data privacy and the potential of hackers stealing critical financial information, it’s more necessary than ever to adopt protection tools like a credit freeze.

This post will go over the most common reasons for freezing your credit file, applying a freeze with each of the three major credit bureaus in the United States, and avoiding your credit security.

If you think you’ve been a victim of identity theft or fraud, freeze your credit report. A credit freeze can stop identity theft and safeguard your credit score.

When Should I Put My Credit On Freeze?

When it comes to preserving your credit after being a victim of identity theft, you have several options to consider. A security alert may be adequate in many circumstances.

You can add a phone number to a security alert, also known as a fraud alert, so lenders can call you to verify that you are applying when they get an application. You can also request additional free credit reports when adding an initial security alert or victim statement. Examining your report might assist you in determining whether you are a victim and taking proper action.

In more extreme circumstances, such as when you’re being targeted by fraudsters regularly, a security freeze may be necessary.

If any of the following apply to you, it’s worth thinking about taking steps to safeguard your credit:

• Unexpected bills or collection notifications are sent to your address, either in your name or under someone else’s name.
• New queries or credit accounts show on your credit report, indicating activity with lenders or other companies you’re unfamiliar with.
• Fraudulent activity on an account is reported to your bank or credit union.
• You are notified that you have been or may be the victim of a data breach.

There are four reasons to freeze your credit record.

In the following situations, requesting a credit report freeze can help protect you from identity theft:

• A data breach could compromise your personal information.
• You’d like to have a greater say over who reads your reports.
• You’re leaving the country.
• You’ve been cheated out of your money.

A data breach could expose your personal information.

It’s nearly hard to avoid having sensitive information on a web server in the digital era. Data breaches are becoming more common as hackers get more proficient. You may not be aware that your information has been hacked in other circumstances. Meanwhile, credit reports can be frozen to prevent anything from happening.

You’d like to have a greater say over who reads your reports.

Lenders are likely to send you prescreened or preapproved offers unless you opt out. A credit card promotion or the promise of a cheap interest rate on a personal loan are common features of these offers.

Before sending that offer, the banking institution ran a mild investigation on your credit. Lenders will not have access to your credit report if you freeze it.

You’re leaving the country.

If you’re going on a long trip overseas, the last thing you want to deal with at home is fraud. And, since you won’t be back in the United States for a while, you won’t be applying for credit while you’re gone.

Credit freezes are normally instantaneous when requested over the phone or online so that you can request one at any time.

You’ve been robbed.

It’s difficult to say what the crooks have access to when it comes to data breaches and other sorts of fraud. However, if you know exactly what a scammer has taken, blocking your credit reports may provide you with some relief.

It’s possible that your Social Security number was listed on a document that was mailed to you if your mail was taken.

How to freeze your credit report?

A credit agency can be requested to freeze your credit report in one of four ways:

1. On the internet

2. Via telephone

3. Through the mail

4. Through a way of the Multi-Bureau Lock

Whatever method you use, keep in mind that you’ll need to supply the following information to complete the request:

• Name in full
• Address
• Date of Birth
• The number assigned by the Social Security Administration.
• Additional personal data

Following the freeze, you’ll get a letter in the mail with a PIN or password that you can use to remove the freeze later.

1: Online

This is the most practical choice. You can make inquiries via the websites of the three major credit bureaus:

• TransUnion
• Equifax
• Experian

On the phone

You can contact the bureaus’ customer service departments to make requests:

• You can reach TransUnion at 1-888-909-8872.
• 888-298-0045 Equifax
• 1-888-397-3742 Experian

Through the mail

Two of the three credit bureaus allow you to request information by mail, albeit it is a much slower process:

Security Freeze at Equifax

105788 P.O. Box

30348 Atlanta, Georgia

Security Freeze by Experian

9554, P.O. Box Box 9554, P.O. Box 9554, P

75013 Allen, TX

Through the use of a multi-bureau lock

TransUnion and Equifax developed a feature in June 2017 that allows you to freeze and unfreeze your credit reports with a single mouse click.

“Multi-Bureau Freeze” allows clients to lock both their TransUnion and Equifax credit reports simultaneously, according to Heather Battison, TransUnion’s former vice president of consumer communications.

The catch is that you must be a paid TransUnion Credit Lock customer, which costs $24.95 each month. Identity theft insurance of up to $1,000,000 is also available through this business. Lock & AlertTM is a free service provided by Equifax that allows you to lock your Equifax reports.

The Pros and Cons of credit freezing

Consider the following factors before considering whether a credit freeze is the right line of action for you:

Pros

It’s completely free.

The federal government offered credit freezing as a free option for all consumers as of September 2018. It also doesn’t cost anything to lift your freeze, either temporarily or permanently.

It’s an excellent deterrent against identity thieves.

Because it is protected by law, a credit freeze is a fantastic way to help protect yourself against identity thieves. A credit lock restricts access to your credit report, but it is unregulated and may cost money.

It’s a simple process.

The Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 mandates all three national credit bureaus to provide websites where consumers can request credit freezes. You can choose how long you want to keep your credit open if you need to thaw it. If you do not provide a date, your account will stay open until you take steps to close it.

It stops credit bureaus from selling your personal information.

Have you ever wondered why you receive so many credit card offers? Credit bureaus can disclose part of your information to potential lenders even if you haven’t permitted them. When you freeze your credit, they cannot share that information with anyone, which should end the credit card solicitations. (At any time, you can opt-out of these offers.)

Cons

You may be required to submit a PIN each time a creditor requests access to your credit report.

Each credit bureau will provide you with a PIN after freezing your account. Although Equifax and TransUnion enable customers to unfreeze their accounts without a PIN (they will ask you authentication questions to verify your identity), Experian requires a PIN to thaw your report.

Lifting the freeze increases your work.

According to the FTC, credit bureaus must unfreeze your account upon your request (they must do it within one hour if you request online or by phone, or within three business days if you make your request by mail). You must, however, make the request. This means you’ll have to take action whenever you want to apply for a new line of credit or do anything else that involves a credit check. And you’ll have to contact each bureau separately to have it done.

It’s not a foolproof method of preventing credit fraud or identity theft.

A freeze prevents identity thieves from opening new credit lines or loans in your name, but it does not protect you from fraud on current accounts. Even if someone gets your credit card number or Social Security number, they can commit fraud. Keep a tight eye on your accounts to avoid being a victim of identity theft. Check your credit score with LendingTree’s free tool and pull your free credit report from AnnualCreditReport.com, which you may do weekly until April 2022 (then once a year from each credit bureau).

Before you freeze your credit reports, there are more things to think about.

Freezing your credit reports isn’t your only option if you’re worried about identity theft. You can also place a fraud warning on your credit reports.

“Place a fraud notice on your credit report in the event of a suspected breach to inform potential creditors or lenders that you may have been a victim of fraud,” Battison advised.

If someone applies for credit in your name, the creditor will have to contact you at the phone number you provided in the alert to confirm your identity. In addition, you can only set up a fraud alert with one of the three credit bureaus. It will then make contact on your behalf with the others.

Choose a fraud alert over a credit freeze if a fraud alert sounds more appropriate for your situation. On the other hand, if you believe things are terrible enough, freezing your credit reports may relieve you.

Other measures to avoid fraud, according to Battison, include constantly reviewing your credit report, using secure websites, and using mobile payments instead of plastic at cash registers.

When should you unfreeze your credit, and how should you do it?

You may want to reopen your credit file to apply for new credit, such as a mortgage, car loan, or credit card.

There is no method to lift a freeze from all three credit bureaus at once, so you’ll have to contact each one separately to thaw your file unless you know which credit bureau a creditor will be utilizing and can then thaw only that one.

A credit freeze Will lift in the following ways:

• Remove the freeze for a set period.
• Allow access to the creditor to whom you’re applying.

It’s also possible to lift a credit freeze permanently, although this is unlikely to be essential and would leave your credit file vulnerable to fraud.