

Step 2: Select the security freeze option. You also may need to answer a few questions about your background, including loans you've taken out, credit cards you hold or previous addresses to confirm your identity.

(Note: You can also submit a credit freeze request via phone or in writing.) You may be asked to provide a previous address if you have lived at your current one for less than two years. Step 1: Go to the credit bureau websites and locate the “security freeze” link.įor Equifax: For Experian: For TransUnion: Type in your name, address, social security number and date of birth. Placing a freeze should be fast and relatively easy, although you will have to sign up for separate ones at each of the three credit bureaus.
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More: McDonald's gives students $25,000 after their fake ad went unnoticed in epic prank How to "freeze" your credit report More: In debt and out of options, thousands of dairy farmers turn to GoFundMe for bailout Less severe than a freeze, fraud alerts tell lenders that your personal data may have been compromised and to take extra steps to verify your identity before approving new credit.Įxisting alerts on Experian reports will automatically be extended, according to Rod Griffin, director of consumer education and advocacy at Experian. The law also extends how long a fraud alert remains on your credit reports from 90 days to one year. The new law comes more than a year after Equifax disclosed a major data breach that exposed the personal information of 148 million Americans and prompted lawmakers to rethink identity security. Before, it cost consumers in almost half the states $3 to $12 per bureau to freeze or unfreeze their credit reports.Ī freeze prevents lenders from pulling a person's credit report – a key part of the approval process for a credit card or loan – essentially preventing fraudsters from opening a new account in that person's name or the name of someone in their family. 21, a new federal law allows people to freeze and unfreeze their credit at the three major credit bureaus without being charged. One of the best ways to protect yourself from identity theft is now free.Īs of Sept.
