How to lock your credit report for free

Free credit freezes and year-long fraud alerts are here, starting September 21st, thanks to a new federal law. Here’s what you should know:

Security freezes, also known as credit freezes, restrict access to your credit file, making it harder for identity thieves to open new accounts in your name. Starting September 21, 2018, you can freeze and unfreeze your credit file for free. You also can get a free freeze for your children who are under 16. And if you are someone’s guardian, conservator or have a valid power of attorney, you can get a free freeze for that person, too.

How will these freezes work? Contact all three of the nationwide credit reporting agencies – Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. If you request a freeze online or by phone, the agency must place the freeze within one business day. If you request a lift of the freeze, the agency must lift it within one hour. If you make your request by mail, the agency must place or lift the freeze within three business days after it gets your request. You also can lift the freeze temporarily without a fee.

Don’t confuse freezes with locks. They work in a similar way, but locks may have monthly fees. If you want a free freeze guaranteed by federal law, then opt for a freeze, not a lock.

Year-long fraud alerts

A fraud alert tells businesses that check your credit that they should check with you before opening a new account. Starting September 21, 2018, when you place a fraud alert, it will last one year, instead of 90 days. Fraud alerts will still be free and identity theft victims can still get an extended fraud alert for seven years.

Credit freezes and the military

If you’re in the military, you’ll still have access to active duty alerts, which let you place a fraud alert for one year, renewable for the time you’re deployed. The active duty alert also gives you an added benefit: the credit reporting agencies will take your name off their marketing lists for prescreened credit card offers for two years (unless you ask them to add you back on).

You can place a fraud alert or active duty alert by visiting any one of the three nationwide credit reporting agencies – Equifax, Experian or TransUnion. The one that you contact must notify the other two. You also can find links to their websites at IdentityTheft.gov.

Issues with a credit freeze

If you think a credit reporting agency is not placing a credit freeze or fraud alert properly, you can submit a complaint online or by calling 855-411-2372. If you think someone stole your identity, visit the FTC’s website, IdentityTheft.gov, to get a personalized recovery plan that walks you through the steps to take.

For more information, check out Place a Fraud Alert, Extended Fraud Alerts and Credit Freezes, and Credit Freeze FAQs. And if you’re considering a child credit freeze, you also may want to read Child Identity Theft.

Credit Bureau Contacts

Contact the national credit bureaus to request fraud alerts, credit freezes (also known as security freezes), and opt outs from pre‑screened credit offers.

Equifax
Equifax.com/personal/credit-report-services
800-685-1111

Experian
Experian.com/help
888-EXPERIAN (888-397-3742)

Transunion
TransUnion.com/credit-help
888-909-8872

Data breaches and identity theft are no laughing matter. Identity fraud hit an all-time high in 2017, with 16.7 million victims in the U.S., according to Javelin Strategy & Research. Data breaches also hit a new high, with 1,579 reported breaches affecting nearly 179 million personal and financial records.

Freezing your credit report is one way to potentially keep identity thieves from stealing your information. A credit freeze restricts access to your credit to your existing creditors and can only be lifted at your request, making it harder for someone to obtain credit in your name fraudulently.

Now, thanks to federal legislation that went into effect on September 21, 2018 (called the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act), you will be able to freeze your credit, protecting your personal and financial information—for free.  

The law also extends how long a fraud alert remains on your file from 90 days to one year.

Credit Freezes vs. Monitoring

“Think of a credit freeze as a state-of-the-art home security system that helps keep the bad guys out, versus credit monitoring, which is more like that text message you got from a neighbor after someone already smashed through your living room window and walked off with your big-screen TV,” says CreditCards.com industry analyst Ted Rossman. “In the latter case, the damage has already been done, so the alert isn’t all that helpful.”

Following the Equifax (EFX) data breach in September 2017, one in five Americans opted to freeze their credit, to the tune of $1.4 billion in credit freeze fees.

“In the past, a credit freeze or security freeze, cost $3 to $10 per credit bureau,” explains Ashley Dull, editor in chief of CardRates.com. “Freezing your credit with all three bureaus could cost up to $30, with additional fees to unfreeze your credit.”

Previously, fees for freezing or unfreezing credit reports were determined at the state level. The new law, dubbed the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act, removes the fee requirement nationwide at all three major credit bureaus—Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. Consumers can also “thaw” their files, temporarily or permanently, without a fee.

What’s Changing for Credit Freezes

“This legislation is a step in the right direction for protecting consumers’ identity,” says Dale Dabbs, president and CEO of Sontiq, the parent company of EZShield + IdentityForce. “It’s critical to have open access to your credit reports while designating who you want to view your credit information.”

The law also includes a provision to allow parents to freeze their children’s credit reports for free for kids aged 16 or younger. Children’s identity theft can be easily overlooked if parents aren’t keeping an eye out for the warning signs.

“If you’re not vigilant regarding your own credit, chances are, you’re not thinking of someone stealing your toddler’s identity and racking up fraudulent charges,” Rossman says. “This could potentially go undetected for many years until they grow up and starts applying for credit, only to find a big mess.”

More than one million children were victims of identity theft in 2017, resulting in $540 million in out of pocket costs to their families. Sixty percent of child identity theft victims were targeted by someone they knew.

“These scenarios are a good reason to freeze your children’s credit file, keeping their information safe with no cost to unlock it when they’re old enough to start using credit,” Dull says.

How to Freeze Your Credit for Free

Freezing your credit file for free is simply a matter of contacting each of the three credit bureaus and requesting a freeze. All three bureaus allow you to freeze your credit online:

• Equifax: Visit www.Equifax.com/personal/credit-report-services
• Experian: Visit www.Experian.com/freeze
• TransUnion: Visit www.TransUnion.com/credit-freeze

You can also initiate a freeze by phone.

When electing to freeze your credit, you’ll need to provide your name, Social Security number, date of birth, address, and phone number. If you’re freezing your report online, you’ll also be asked to create an account using your email address and a unique password. From there, you just need to verify your identity and you’re set.

Once your credit’s frozen, you’ll have to make another request to unfreeze it, but again, it won’t cost you anything. Just be sure to consider the timing when unfreezing your credit file.

Rossman says the new law mandates that credit freezes be lifted in less than an hour, but he recommends giving yourself a longer window if you’re planning to apply for credit soon after. If you’re car shopping, for instance, he suggests lifting a freeze three business days before applying for a loan to avoid the odds of being caught in limbo waiting for financing to be approved because your credit file is inaccessible.

One other thing to note: The new law extends short-term fraud alerts to one year, versus the old 90-day limit. Placing a fraud alert on your credit file requires lenders to contact you to verify your identity when they receive an application for credit in your name.

The Bottom Line

While free credit freezes aren’t a foolproof barrier against identity theft, they can help to keep your information out of the wrong hands. You can also strengthen your defenses by checking your credit regularly, reviewing bank and credit card statements for suspicious activity, and setting up bank and credit card alerts to notify you of new transactions. The more proactive you are about safeguarding your information, the greater the chances of preventing identity theft.

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