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%Begin How to freeze your credit after the Equifax data breach Caret RightMain Menu Mortgage Mortgages Financing a home purchase Refinancing your existing loan Finding the right lender Additional Resources Elevate your Bankrate experience Get insider access to our best financial tools and content Caret RightMain Menu Bank Banking Compare Accounts Use calculators Get advice Bank reviews Elevate your Bankrate experience Get insider access to our best financial tools and content Caret RightMain Menu Credit Card Credit cards Compare by category Compare by credit needed Compare by issuer Get advice Looking for the perfect credit card? Narrow your search with CardMatch Caret RightMain Menu Loan Loans Personal Loans Student Loans Auto Loans Loan calculators Elevate your Bankrate experience Get insider access to our best financial tools and content Caret RightMain Menu Invest Investing Best of Brokerages and robo-advisors Learn the basics Additional resources Elevate your Bankrate experience Get insider access to our best financial tools and content Caret RightMain Menu Home Equity Home equity Get the best rates Lender reviews Use calculators Knowledge base Elevate your Bankrate experience Get insider access to our best financial tools and content Caret RightMain Menu Loan Home Improvement Real estate Selling a home Buying a home Finding the right agent Additional resources Elevate your Bankrate experience Get insider access to our best financial tools and content Caret RightMain Menu Insurance Insurance Car insurance Homeowners insurance Other insurance Company reviews Elevate your Bankrate experience Get insider access to our best financial tools and content Caret RightMain Menu Retirement Retirement Retirement plans & accounts Learn the basics Retirement calculators Additional resources Elevate your Bankrate experience Get insider access to our best financial tools and content September 19, 2017 Robert Barba Bankrate logo
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Here's an explanation for how we make money. Bankrate logo
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Founded in 1976, Bankrate has a long track record of helping people make smart financial choices.
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We’ve maintained this reputation for over four decades by demystifying the financial decision-making process and giving people confidence in which actions to take next. Bankrate follows a strict , so you can trust that we’re putting your interests first. All of our content is authored by and edited by , who ensure everything we publish is objective, accurate and trustworthy.
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Our banking reporters and editors focus on the points consumers care about most — the best banks, latest rates, different types of accounts, money-saving tips and more — so you can feel confident as you’re managing your money. Bankrate logo
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Bankrate follows a strict , so you can trust that we’re putting your interests first.
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Our award-winning editors and reporters create honest and accurate content to help you make the right financial decisions.
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We value your trust. Our mission is to provide readers with accurate and unbiased information, and we have editorial standards in place to ensure that happens.
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Our editors and reporters thoroughly fact-check editorial content to ensure the information you’re reading is accurate. We maintain a firewall between our advertisers and our editorial team. Our editorial team does not receive direct compensation from our advertisers.
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Bankrate’s editorial team writes on behalf of YOU – the reader. Our goal is to give you the best advice to help you make smart personal finance decisions.
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We follow strict guidelines to ensure that our editorial content is not influenced by advertisers. Our editorial team receives no direct compensation from advertisers, and our content is thoroughly fact-checked to ensure accuracy.
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So, whether you’re reading an article or a review, you can trust that you’re getting credible and dependable information. Bankrate logo
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Our experts have been helping you master your money for over four decades. We continually strive to provide consumers with the expert advice and tools needed to succeed throughout life’s financial journey.
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Bankrate follows a strict , so you can trust that our content is honest and accurate. Our award-winning editors and reporters create honest and accurate content to help you make the right financial decisions.
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The content created by our editorial staff is objective, factual, and not influenced by our advertisers. We’re transparent about how we are able to bring quality content, competitive rates, and useful tools to you by explaining how we make money.
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Bankrate.com is an independent, advertising-supported publisher and comparison service. We are compensated in exchange for placement of sponsored products and, services, or by you clicking on certain links posted on our site. Therefore, this compensation may impact how, where and in what order products appear within listing categories.
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Freezing your credit
Nearly half of all Americans may have had their personal data exposed in the . Now what?
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It’s time to consider what to do to protect your identity, your money and your credit. You could on your credit reports.
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It’s a free way to bolster your personal information security. But freezing your credit is the more robust — and more complicated — option. Granted, this is a dramatic step.
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It is the Fort Knox of options, although given that criminals might have your name, Social Security number, date of birth and address, as well as your driver’s license and numbers, that type of fortress is exactly what you should crave. Freezing your credit restricts who can . The government can still see it, but creditors deciding whether to open a new account in your name cannot.
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Most reputable lenders won’t open a credit card or issue a loan without first pulling your credit. This is how a freeze protects you.
Getting started
You’ll need to ask for a freeze at each of the three credit bureaus — Equifax, Experian and TransUnion — separately.
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You can do so online. The bureaus will ask for information like your name, date of birth, Social Security number and current and past addresses.
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The bureaus as well, including a copy of a government-issued ID or utility bill. The credit bureaus typically charge you to freeze your credit unless you are an identity theft victim who has filed a police report or other official documents required by your state. The fee you’ll pay depends on the state in which you live, but it’s generally between $5 and $10 per bureau.
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You can find each state’s rules . Equifax says it will through Nov.
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21 for people who want to freeze their credit. The company also says it will refund any consumers who paid for a freeze in the days immediately following disclosure of the breach. As part of the freeze, you’ll receive a PIN that you’ll need when it comes time to unfreeze your account.
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You may have to pay an additional fee to either temporarily or permanently lift the freeze.
The Equifax offer
Equifax is offering all U.S.
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consumers a free year’s subscription to its TrustedID Premier service, which includes a credit report lock function. However, by accepting the service, you have to agree to settle any dispute through arbitration. (The company said the arbitration clause does not apply to the “cybersecurity incident” itself.) There is an opt-out provision, which allows you to get out of the arbitration requirement by notifying Equifax in writing within 30 days of adding the service.
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The Equifax offer leaves gaps in your protection, as well, as the other bureaus are not required to lock down their versions of your credit report. TrustedID also will provide free credit-monitoring at all three bureaus, but that too leaves you vulnerable, as credit monitoring only detects identity theft after the fact.
Why not freeze
The downside of a credit freeze is the ability to do things quickly.
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If you want to or take out a mortgage, you’ll have to unfreeze your credit. That can be time-consuming.
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It could also cost you about $30 every time. Anything involving your reports may become a hassle, as well.
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You would have to lift the freeze to allow a background check by a prospective employer or to apply for insurance, for example. What’s more, a credit freeze isn’t a guarantee you won’t become an identity theft victim and it doesn’t protect you against fraud committed using accounts you already have open.
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That’s a danger for people who had their credit card numbers taken in the Equifax breach. Those victims will have to monitor their credit card statements closely for signs of fraud.
Other options
If a credit freeze just seems like too drastic of a step for you, a fraud alert is another option.
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In that case, creditors must obtain your permission before getting access to your report. Fraud alerts last 90 days, although you are able to renew it.
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You typically only need to contact one of the bureaus to set them up at all three, but verify the bureau will report the update with others. SHARE: Robert Barba
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