After another massive online data breach, you don’t know if someone has stolen your Social Security number, but presumably it’s only a matter of time. It is recommended that you go online and freeze your credit files so that no one can steal your money. It’s a surprisingly quick and easy process. In total, it may take you about 10 minutes on the Internet and a short phone call.
And it’s understood that people are generally a little skeptical when personal finance experts say something is quick and easy, because in the field of personal finance, very few things are. At two of the three credit bureaus, TransUnion and Equifax, you can log in and follow the instructions to freeze your credit accounts. In both cases, you must create an account and confirm your identity.
Social Security at Risk? How Freezing Credit Can Save You Thousands
They may present you various offers to try to get you to pay for credit monitoring services. The only thing that is needed in this case is to freeze the credit history, and that is completely free for everyone. In TransUnion you also have to uncheck the box that required you to subscribe to receive “helpful tips and news about the service, including special offers from TransUnion and trusted partners.”
The third credit agency, Experian EXPN, is a little more tedious online, it does not allow you to freeze the file easily online. Ask to make a PDF and upload copies of your passport or driver’s license and a recent utility bill. But they also offer a phone number (1-888-397-3742) open during extended business hours, and it’s very easy. A handful of voice prompts and your third file is frozen.
Freeze Your Credit Files in Minutes — Here’s How to Do It
Freezing credit files means that even if someone steals all your personal data, they shouldn’t be able to borrow money in your name. No iPhone, no credit card, no car loan, no rental contract. When someone tries to apply for a new loan or a new card, the bank or lender automatically checks their credit with all three bureaus. And those files are now locked.
Last week, news broke of another massive online data breach. This supposedly involved 2.9 billion records. If you’re not sure if someone has stolen your Social Security number, it may only be a matter of time. When it comes to hackers and identity theft, remember what Margaret Thatcher famously said about terrorists “they only have to succeed once. Those of us who try to defend ourselves have to always triumph.”
Social Security Numbers Possessed by Hackers
I know some sources say you should just closely monitor your credit files and credit reports regularly. As if you don’t have enough to do. As usual, most personal finance advice is written by type “A” people who are absolutely baffled to discover that some section of the population is not type A.
Still, as the Public Interest Research Group says, “your best protection against someone opening new credit accounts in your name is a security freeze (also known as a credit freeze), not the underperforming credit monitoring that is often offered.”
In fact, it seems strange that our credit files are open and that we must take steps to freeze them, not the other way around. Once again, American businesses are run for the benefit of businesses, not consumers. The downside to this is that you can’t open another credit card without first contacting all three agencies and unfreezing your files. So there is also an advantage.