Used to be you'd freeze your credit if you'd suffered identity theft or some other compromise of your personal information. But as data breaches have piled up, a pre-emptive credit freeze has become a popular way to protect your credit, even if a thief hasn't yet made fraudulent use of your info.
The nearly three billion individuals who had their personal data leaked during a cyber attack targeting National Public Data (NPD), may want to take strong action to protect themselves from such a widespread breach.
What Does a Credit Freeze Do?
When you put a credit freeze (sometimes called a security freeze) in place, new creditors can't review your credit reports to judge whether you're eligible for a credit card or loan — and in turn, lenders are unlikely to grant credit to fraudsters posing as you. When you need to shop for credit for yourself, you can temporarily lift the freeze.
How Much Does a Credit Freeze Cost?
Do I have to pay to freeze my credit? Nope. Placing and lifting a freeze is free at each of the major credit agencies, thanks to federal law.
How Do I Actually Freeze My Credit?
To set up a credit freeze, take these three steps.
1. Gather your information. In the past, all three of the credit agencies had consumers use a PIN to confirm their identities when they wanted to temporarily lift or permanently remove a freeze. But TransUnion, Equifax and Experian no longer require a PIN. Instead, you can set up a password-protected online account or provide identity-verification information by phone or mail. But if you go online, you can manage your freeze with a password-protected account instead.
2. Contact each credit agency. The web pages or phone numbers below are the quickest avenues to imposing a freeze. To submit your request by mail, use these addresses.
Freeze your credit with Equifax
Equifax Information Services LLC,
P.O. Box 105788,
Atlanta, GA 30348
(Fill out and submit this form to request a freeze by mail.)
888-298-0045
Freeze your credit with Experian
Experian Security Freeze,
P.O. Box 9554
Allen, TX 75013
888-397-3742
Freeze your credit with TransUnion
TransUnion
P.O. Box 160
Woodlyn, PA 19094
888-909-8872
3. Save your passwords. Write down the online account passwords, and keep them in a safe place at home. When you're ready to shop for a loan or lift the freeze for any other reason, you can call the phone numbers or visit the websites listed above.
