If you do one free thing to protect your credit this year, make it a freeze. A credit freeze is the strongest simple block against new-account fraud, federal law makes it free, and placing one does not touch your credit score.
What a freeze actually does
A freeze restricts access to your credit report. Because most lenders will not open a new account without pulling that report first, a frozen file means a thief with your information generally cannot open cards or loans in your name. You can still use your existing cards and accounts exactly as before, and you can still pull your own reports.
Free by law since 2018 – at each bureau separately
Since September 2018, federal law has required the nationwide bureaus to let you place and lift a freeze for free. The catch people miss: there is no single master switch. You place the freeze with Equifax, Experian and TransUnion one at a time – online, by phone or by mail – and each bureau gives you a PIN or password. Keep those credentials somewhere safe; you need them to lift the freeze.
What a freeze does not do
A freeze does not affect your credit score in any way. It does not stop bills from being reported, does not protect accounts you already hold, and is not the same as a fraud alert: an alert asks lenders to verify your identity before extending credit and lasts one year, while a freeze locks the file until you lift it. When you want to apply for credit yourself, you lift the freeze – temporarily, with a scheduled re-freeze – at the bureau the lender will check.
A fifteen-minute routine
Work bureau by bureau, confirm each freeze is active before moving on, and store the three PINs with your other critical records. Three short sessions, no cost, and the most common route to identity-theft debt is closed.
Sources
- Federal Trade Commission: Credit Freezes and Fraud Alerts (Consumer Advice)
- Consumer Financial Protection Bureau: What is a credit freeze or security freeze?
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