| Freeze and Lock Credit Report |
| By Credit Federal |
Published
10/10/2007
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Credit Report
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Freeze/Lock Your Credit Report for Identity Theft Protection
By year's end, all 50 states will offer credit freezes to help you prevent identity theft. But will this tool truly help you lock thieves out of your credit life, and will it be worth the time or expense?
What is a credit report lock/freeze?
A security freeze gives you the option to freeze or lock access to your credit file against anyone who may be trying to open up a new account or to get new credit in your good name. When a security freeze is in place at all three major credit bureaus, an identity thief cannot open a new account.
Of course, if you lock your report and want to apply for credit, you'll first have to remove the lock from your account.
The ability to freeze credit report access will be offered by all three credit bureaus (TransUnion, Experian and Equifax). TransUnion will be first in the next few days, followed by Experian scheduled for November, and Equifax says it will also offer this service soon but has not yet released a launch date.
Benefits of a credit report lock:
Putting a freeze on your credit may be the single best step against identity theft. Be prepared for the fees. To be most effective, you'll need to lock all three credit report bureaus, at about $30.
Then if you want to apply for a loan or a credit card, you'll have to spend another $30 to remove the locks unless you live in one of the few states (like Montana, New Jersey and New York) that have mandated lower fees.
You'll also have to plan ahead if you think you're going to be applying for credit. It could take up to 3 days to remove the freeze from all of your credit reports.
Bugs and kinks:
If you wait before jumping onto the credit report freeze wagon, there's a possibility the credit bureaus will streamline the freezing and unfreezing process within another year so you'll only have to go to one place and at lower rates.
Meanwhile there are simple things you can do to curb your risk of identity theft, such as shredding your documents, opting out of junk mail and keeping your social security number private.
Already been the victim of ID theft? If so, the lock/freeze services from the credit bureaus are free. Although after the fact, this can help prevent further problems. The identity thief probably still has your information and may try to sell it.
High threat person? If you live in an apartment building or any place that uses a community of mailboxes, you may want to consider a freeze since your risk of ID theft is greater.
You can also put a credit alert on your credit records. A credit monitoring service will alert you when there are inquiries into your account or any new accounts that are opened in your name. Credit monitoring services can cost from $10 to $35 bucks a month. Make sure you choose a service that monitors all three credit bureaus.
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