Be vigilant about protecting your personal information, shredding documents and checking your credit report regularly. While this is an added and very valuable layer of protection, you are still vulnerable to identity theft. The three credit reporting bureaus Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. Once your report is frozen, you won’t have access to instant credit either, but that is a small inconvenience compared to the hassle and costs involved with identity theft. You may see the terms credit freeze and credit lock used interchangeably, and they do offer similar protections. A PIN is no longer required to place or remove an Equifax credit. A thaw can take up to three days so it is important to plan ahead and thaw your credit report if you need to apply for new credit. By creating a myEquifax account, you can unfreeze your Equifax credit report online. You can thaw a frozen credit report by providing a PIN number issued to you at the time of the freeze. If you lost your PIN, Experian will need to reissue one. You also can call 888-EXPERIAN (88) and provide the PIN to lift the freeze from your credit report. Some states waive fees for senior citizens and identity-theft victims. When you enter the PIN at Experian's Security Freeze Center, you can lift a credit freeze online immediately. You’ll only need a PIN to make changes to your freeze via phone or mail. The ‘freeze’ blocks access to your credit report- preventing retailers and other companies from issuing the instant credit that identity thieves easily prey on.įees vary by state and a freeze can cost up to $20 and a thaw can cost up to $18. What is permissible purpose Manage Pin You won’t need a PIN to make changes to your freeze online. But what consumers don’t typically think about is that this process is just as easy for identity thieves.Īs of January 2007, new legislation in 21 states gives consumers the power to freeze their credit reports. You can easily unfreeze or thaw your credit report when you want to apply for. number (PIN) that only you know and can use to temporarily thaw your. Everyone’s done this at some point and it is a quick and easy process. Equifax and TransUnion) to allow you to place a security freeze on your credit. If you want to open an account at a department store or cell phone company, all you need is ID, your birth date and social security number.
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