If freezing your credit is a better way to protect your identity and the associated credit that goes along with it, how do I freeze my credit?
-
1Very interesting. Of course, the first thing that came to mind was that old trick/cliche of freezing your credit cards in a block of ice. :)– George MarianDec 9 '10 at 21:49
-
2Yeah, that's cool.– MrChristerDec 9 '10 at 22:59
Add a comment
|
Freezing your credit is as simple as contacting each of the credit bureaus via their websites and asking for a freeze. Remember, don't get monitoring or a credit alert, get a credit freeze.
Depending on the state you live in, there will be a charge to freeze and unfreeze your credit. You will need to unfreeze your credit before you apply for a loan or anything else that somebody would access your credit report for. While you can possibly spend up to $10 per incident, this is probably worth it.
You will be given a secret key that you can use to unfreeze your credit, so store that in a safe place so you don't forget.
If you have a police report from a case of identity theft, you can do the freezing and unfreezing for free.
-
The FTC has a Credit Freeze FAQ that provides some detail on what it is and how to do it. Jun 20 '16 at 20:59