You can ask each of the three credit reporting agencies, Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion, to put what is called a “fraud alert” on your credit report. The purpose: If someone applies for credit in your name, the creditor is supposed to contact you for permission. Good idea, but follow through on the part of creditors is lacking.
A credit freeze is a better alternative and it does just what the name implies. Anyone trying to open credit in your name gets the cold shoulder.
California residents have been able to freeze their credit reports since 2003, and more states are following suit. Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Louisiana, Maine, New Jersey, Nevada, North Carolina, Texas, Vermont, and Washington all now grant their citizens this right. In some of these states, you have to have been the victim of identity theft already in order to do the credit freeze. If your state is not listed here, contact your Congressman (https://forms.house.gov/wyr/welcome.shtml)
When you apply for a credit card or a loan or even a cell phone, they request your credit report. If you have placed a freeze on your report, they will be denied access to your credit report and will be informed that your account is frozen. If someone else is trying to use your identity, this will put them on ice. Even if the bad guy identity stealer has your other information—your name, social security number, and birth date — they will not be able to get credit in your name or open new accounts with your information. The creditor will not proceed because they need to se your credit report, and the crook will not be able to give them access to it. A credit freeze can stop them cold.
If you want to open a credit card, you will be able to use a PIN number that was given to you by the credit reporting agency when you put the freeze on your credit report. Using the PIN allows you to lift the freeze, temporarily or permanently. You will be able to do business in your name. With a credit freeze, no one else will.
Some states require a fee for the freeze and for a temporary removal of a credit freeze. Each state is different. Check with your state for more information.
In order to place a freeze on your credit report, you must contact each of the three credit agencies separately. Each requires slightly different information, so check with each:
Equifax Security Freeze
P.O. Box 105788
Atlanta, GA 30348
1-800-685-1111
Experian Security Freeze
P.O. Box 9554
Allen, TX 75013
1-888-397-3742
TransUnion Security Freeze
P.O. Box 6790
Fullerton , CA 92834-6790
1-888-909-8872
Thanks to www.creditcures.com for their help with this info.
