The Social Security Administration uses an Identification Services Provider, 5 Equifax, to verify your identity and protect your information. While you certainly can freeze your credit and navigate the borrowing process, you can also choose to delay your credit freeze until your transactions are completed and credit is in place. While you can freeze within a day and unfreeze your credit within an hour, the process adds layers of complexity to each of your financial transactions. Someone who is currently very "credit active", such as those purchasing a new home, or vehicle or applying for new credit in the next few months, may want to hold off on a credit freeze. Complexity of financial situations and a high public profile translates to increased exposure to fraud. Financially successful and high net worth individuals are more likely to be targeted for identity theft due to the scope of their finances. Helpful Resources for Freezing Your CreditĪ good candidate for a credit freeze would be anyone with a good, very good, or excellent credit rating. There are a plethora of sites claiming to offer "free credit reports" or "free credit scores." The only site that is free (with no strings attached) is (which is authorized by the Federal Trade Commission). Of course, you can request your report more often by paying a nominal fee.īe sure watch out for imposters. The credit bureaus are required to provide this report annually at no charge. You can also "do-it-yourself" by going to and requesting your credit information from each of the reporting agencies. You can check your credit using monitoring services available through the credit bureaus or private companies for a monthly fee. While monitoring itself doesn’t prevent identity theft, being vigilant about your credit can expedite finding problems before they escalate. A credit monitoring service can provide alerts for misuse of your data and add an extra layer of protection. Monitoring your credit information is still important. A best practice is to review your banking transactions and credit cards every few days for unauthorized charges. While a credit freeze provides protection against new accounts being opened in your name, a freeze doesn’t prevent fraudulent use of your existing bank accounts and credit cards. The freeze also doesn’t affect your credit score.Įven with a credit freeze in place, remember to stay vigilant. With a credit freeze in place, you can still use your credit cards, and your existing lenders can still review your information with soft inquiries as normal. 3 To unfreeze it, they must lift the freeze within an hour. Upon your request by phone or online to each of the credit bureaus - Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion - they must freeze your credit within one business day. With a security freeze in place, your credit information is blocked so it’s highly unlikely a lender will extend new credit. Creditors find this information by checking your credit information through one of the major credit bureaus before authorizing new accounts, such as new credit cards and auto loans. Before extending credit, a lender needs to assess the risk of getting paid back. According to the Federal Trade Commission, a credit freeze, also known as a security freeze, is a "free tool lets you restrict access to your credit report, which in turn makes it more difficult to identity thieves to open new accounts in your name." 2 Credit freezing takes a little knowledge and time to provide a strong layer of credit protection.
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