Freezing Your Credit – Why, When, and How To Do It

Have you ever wondered why you would need to freeze your credit? What could drive you to make such a seemingly drastic decision? Freezing your credit may sound like a big step, but it’s actually an effective way to protect your credit and accounts from prying eyes or criminal activity. As for why and when you would need to do this, there are many reasons for a credit freeze to be your best course of action.

Don’t worry; we won’t make you figure it out by yourself. We’ve laid out some root causes for a credit freeze so that you can decide if your situation calls for it. We’ve also explained how you can start the process and provided some further reading for you to learn many of the ins and outs of how to put a credit freeze in place.

What is a credit freeze?

A credit freeze is a “lock” that you can place on your credit reports to prevent third parties from viewing your credit score. It also blocks new lines of credit under your name, ensuring that online criminals cannot open new accounts. This means that a credit freeze is a strong tool to use to protect against identity theft.

A credit freeze is temporary, so you can remove the freeze if you need someone to review your credit score, or if you need to open a new line of credit. Freezing your credit is also much more effective than simply filing a fraud alert, because it is a proactive step that you can take to protect yourself.

Why would you need to freeze your credit?

Think about some of these common scenarios that are good reasons to freeze your credit. Have any of these ever happened to you? Or is it likely that they could happen to you in the future?

• A data breach hits a company or business that has access to your credit details, like a bank, online shopping website, or social media platform.
• While out and about, you lose your wallet—including all your credit cards and driver’s license—the perfect tools for an identity thief to pose as you.
• You find out that someone has illicitly accessed your bank accounts, and you want to prevent them from wreaking further havoc on your accounts.
• You need to practice financial discipline. Having a credit freeze in place means you need to go through extra steps to lift it before you purchase anything with credit.

How do you freeze your credit?

1. It’s a free and straightforward process to freeze your credit. Contact each of the three major credit bureaus: Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion.
2. Provide your name, date of birth, address, and Social Security number, to confirm your identity with them.
3. Request that they freeze your credit.

Equifax – go to the Equifax website or call 1-800-685-111.

Experian – visit them online at their Credit Freeze Center or call 1-888-EXPERIAN.

TransUnion – go to the TransUnion site or you can call into their automated phone system or talk to a live agent at 1-888-909-8872.

When would freezing your credit be unhelpful?

If you need quick access to your credit files, freezing your credit may not be a good idea. Keep in mind that you will have to lift the credit freeze before you can apply for credit, meaning that some extra work will be required. This also means that you should expect delays if you need a lender or some other official party to view your credit files.

You’ll also want to remember that credit freezes cannot prevent identity thieves from targeting you. Cyber thieves may use your identity in other ways, like filing fake tax returns or posing as you on social media sites to lure in other unsuspecting victims. They could also use your existing credit card number if they have already gained access to it.

How can IDShield help with this process?

When you are worried about your credit, the last thing you want to do is deal with the problem by yourself. That’s why IDShield is here to help. We assist in monitoring your Personal Identifiable Information so you can protect yourself from thieves, data brokers, and other parties that may want to steal or sell your data.

When you sign up for an IDShield Membership, we watch out for you by monitoring many data points: Dark web, bank accounts, credit, and more. If we catch any suspicious activity, we send you real-time alerts and provide next steps for you to protect your data. Identity theft can still happen, even with the best protection, so our Licensed Private Investigators are ready to work to restore your identity to its pre-theft status.

Sign up today for either 1 or 3 credit bureau monitoring. Think of IDShield as your provider for identity protection, credit monitoring, reputation management, and identity restoration. You can approach credit freezes and other sticky identity situations with peace of mind when you have IDShield on your side.

Take the next step!

• Learn more about the details of a credit freeze.
• Get more information about how to freeze your credit, and how to lift the freeze when needed.
• Get the details about identity theft and how we help protect against it.

‍

Pre-Paid Legal Services, Inc. (“PPLSI”) provides access to legal and identity theft services through membership-based participation. IDShield is a product of PPLSI. All Licensed Private Investigators are licensed in the state of Oklahoma. The information available in this blog is meant to provide general information and is not intended to provide professional advice, render an option, or provide any specific recommendations. The blog post is not a substitute for competent and professional advice. Information contained in the blog may be provided by authors who could be third-party paid contributors. All information by authors is accepted in good faith; however, PPLSI makes no representation or warranty of any kind, express or implied, regarding the accuracy, adequacy, validity, reliability, availability, or completeness of such information.