Freeze Your Credit
Credit freezes are one of the most effective ways for consumers to protect themselves against identity theft — and this goes for anyone at any time — regardless of whether you were impacted by any one specific breach. When applying for credit or a new loan, it often goes through one of these three major bureaus, Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. Since it is unclear which credit bureau your information goes through it is imperative that you freeze your credit with all three credit reporting agencies.
Below is a quick reference guide on how to put a freeze in place with each bureau, followed by additional information on what a credit freeze is.
- Online: Visit the Credit Freeze page here
- Freeze and thaw your credit at no cost. To set up your account you will need the last 4 digits of your social security number and to create a private PIN.
- By phone: 1-888-909-8872
- By mail: Request your credit freeze by certified mail using this sample letter
TransUnion LLC
P.O. Box 2000
Chester, PA 19016
- Online: Visit this page to freeze your credit with Equifax.
- Freeze and thaw your credit at no cost. To create your account you will need your social security number. Equifax will provide you will a private PIN on the confirmation page you'll want to save and/or print out to verify your identity. *Important note: with such high traffic to the Equifax website, if you can’t get your request processed, wait 24 hours before trying again.
- By phone: 1-800-685-1111 (NY residents please call 1-800-349-9960)
- By mail: Request your credit freeze by certified mail using this sample letter
Equifax Security Freeze
P.O. Box 105788
Atlanta, GA 30348
- Online: Visit the Credit Freeze page here
- No cost to freeze or thaw your credit. To create your profile you'll need your social security number and to create a private PIN verify your identity.
- By phone: 1-888-397-3742. When calling, press 2 and then follow the prompts for the security freeze
- By mail: Request your credit freeze by certified mail using this sample letter
Experian Security Freeze
P.O. Box 9554
Allen, TX 75013
What exactly is a credit freeze?
A credit freeze allows you to seal your credit reports and use a personal identification number (PIN) that only you know and can use to temporarily or permanently “thaw” your credit immediately when legitimate applications for credit and services need to be processed. The added layer of security means that thieves can’t establish new credit in your name even if they are able to obtain your personal information.
Freezing your credit files has no impact whatsoever on your existing lines of credit, such as credit cards. You can continue to use them as you regularly would even when your credit is frozen.
Freezes have been available for free to victims of identity theft for some years, but passage of the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act means that credit-reporting bureaus must allow adult consumers to freeze their credit for free.
From September 21, 2018, onward, TransUnion, Equifax and Experian all have a webpage on their respective websites for requesting fraud alerts and credit freezes. The FTC also has links to those web pages at IdentityTheft.gov.
Additionally, active members of the U.S. military will be able to receive free electronic credit monitoring from the three major credit-reporting agencies for one year. After that, the service can be renewed for the length of deployment.
Parents or guardians are now able to place credit freezes on their children under age 16.
*When you do a credit freeze, it is imperative that you freeze your credit with all three bureaus. *
When shouldn't you freeze your credit?
If your credit reports are accessed often for work or because you create new accounts with various financial institutions on a regular basis, it is not recommended that you freeze your accounts. The potential costs to regularly “thaw” your reports would tend to be excessive.
