Great idea to freeze credit. My wife and I spent a total of 4 hours with TranUnion and Experian. Both are hopelessly insecure and poorly coded. Passcode to login on Equifax is not sent to phone, they MAIL it via USPS. If you already have a TransUnion profile but forgot the id or password, there is NO WAY to reset it. We managed to get 1 Experian profile frozen. And there is no way to reach a manager. Everything is done via txt on a mobile phone. The telephone software program even RECITES YOUR SOCIAL back to you… anyone listening to your call now has it! Terrible privacy/security.
Clark told us all to freeze our credit years ago. So my freezes have been in place a long time.
Back then there was a separate “PIN” to secure our freezes and Clark told us over and over again to NOT lose those pins! Well, enough people managed to lose them and now they don’t use those pins anymore. I just checked mine a few weeks ago and all 3 are still frozen. That’s good.
I froze all three of mine and I didn’t need a pin. Just opened an account and clicked freeze or unfreeze.
What is the easiest way to freeze your credit? I finally checked my score and want to make sure no problems crop up later on.
Just create an account at each bureau’s website and freeze them.
I think my first data breach occurred in 2015 and I promptly set up freezes with all the major bureaus. Setting up those initial freezes can be plenty challenging if you are unable to EXACTLY match your identifying info with the bureaus.
Early in 2019 the monitoring service being provided to me notified me of an adverse event - someone had opened a Comcast account in my name that was then some 10 months in arrears. It took some months to clear the event and restore my credit score. I was never able to zero in on which piece of personal info had been used to open the fraudulent account as no one at Comcast was willing or allowed to divulge how they verified new account applicants. My takeaway was that Comcast dropped the ball and opened a new account for someone in my name no questions asked. Strangely, I never received any overdue/unpaid notices until the delinquent account was referred to collections, triggering the notification from my monitoring service.
I thought I had taken all recommended precautions but it seems that credit freezes are only as effective as the security practices of any given business, in this case, Comcast.
Thank you for posting. Was feeling I was the only one. Will try again in a few weeks when my head clears . I tried about 2 weeks ago for self and spouse… Have no idea what or if I succeeded. Needed multiple email addresses, multiple working cell phones, etc.
After the 2017 Equifax hack that exposed 146 million accounts (names, addresses, SSN’s, the works) I learned daughter & myself were “probably impacted”. I put credit freezes on both our reports at the 3 agencies and have had peace of mind ever since.
Only hassle is if I need to temporarily lift the freezes for a new cc application or loan, but I’m debt-free and not contemplating borrowing any time soon. One bureau required a $3 fee to apply the freeze, but it’s the cheapest insurance premium I ever paid.
I just froze my three accounts and there was no fees. Rating bureaus have been hacked so you a long password and keep it a secure place at home.