Should You Consider a Credit Freeze?
Some time back a government agency that holds my personal data reported a data breach and offered free credit monitoring, for which I signed up. A few weeks ago the monitoring company notified me that my personal data had appeared on “the dark web,” a part of the internet that’s associated with illegal activities. It’s hard to know exactly what to make of this information. It’s not clear just what information was compromised, or whether it included my social security number. I did notice an increase in phishing calls where the caller knew my address, phone number and at least one email address.
I immediately checked my credit report to make sure no one had applied for new credit in my name, which fortunately hadn’t occurred. To address future threats, I put a security freeze on my credit report with all three credit bureaus. It’s not hard, and it seems like a good layer of protection from fraudulent activities. After I discussed it with my business and life partner Bill Weihman, he decided to freeze his credit report also. At this point in our lives we’re not opening many new accounts, and if we wished to do so, it takes only a few minutes to un-freeze when you need to. Here’s how it works:
In order to freeze your credit report, you need to contact each of the three credit bureaus: Experian, Transunion and Equifax (contact information follows). Online is the easiest way, it took me less than half an hour for all three credit bureaus. Once you do this, they will not make your credit report available for the purpose of opening a new credit account. That means no one who may have stolen your personal information can open a new credit account or take out a new loan without your knowledge.
This doesn’t mean that no one has access to your credit report. You can always check your own credit report, as can your current creditors (to raise your credit limit, for example). The bureau can still supply your credit report for non-credit applications such as renting an apartment, getting insurance, applying for a job. Certain government agencies, debt collectors and companies doing identity verification will still have access to your credit report. Those kinds of checks are called “soft inquiries,” and they don’t affect your credit score. Freezing your credit also has no impact on your credit score. It just ensures that no one can access your report for the purpose of opening a new credit account.
Consider freezing your credit report for a little peace of mind. It’s easy to implement, easy to reverse when you need to, and it’s free.
Experian https://www.experian.com/freeze/center.html
888-397-3742
P.O. Box 9554
Allen, TX 75013
Transunion https://www.transunion.com/credit-freeze
800-916-8800
P.O. Box 160
Woodlyn, PA 19094
Equifax https://www.equifax.com/personal/credit-report-services/credit-freeze
888-298-0045
P.O. Box 105788
Atlanta, GA 30348-5788
