I think it’s a small price to pay for the security that it offers. You’ll need to plan ahead when opening a new credit account ( mortgage, credit card, auto loan, etc.) since you’ll need to request a temporary lift of the credit freezeĪs you can see from the list of pros and cons, there are tremendous benefits to freezing your credit, while the downside mostly deals with convenience.You need to contact each credit reporting agency individually to issue a credit freeze and then subsequently to lift the freeze.A credit freeze isn’t guaranteed to be 100% effective.In most states, credit freezes last indefinitely, so you don’t have to worry about them expiring until you lift them.Freezing your credit will prevent you from impulsively applying for a new credit card at a store since lifting a freeze will take roughly 20 minutes.Credit freezes are now free and won’t cost you a penny.A freeze won’t impact your credit score or affect your ability to use your existing credit accounts.A credit freeze gives you peace of mind knowing that your credit report is secure.Freezing your credit reduces the ability for someone to create a fraudulent credit account in your name.While it seems like a no-brainer to freeze your credit, let’s explore the pros and cons so that you can make the best decision possible. It used to cost money to freeze your credit, but it’s now required by law that credit reporting agencies offer credit freezes for free. With identity fraud victims reaching an all-time high, it’s smart to take the steps to protect your financial assets. To be clear, a credit freeze won’t protect you from someone stealing your identity, but it will make it more difficult for them to use your stolen identity to open fraudulent credit accounts in your name. The theft of social security numbers and other personal details means that someone out there might have all of the information they need to steal your identity. The fact that Equifax, one of the major credit reporting agencies, suffered a security breach serves as a warning. In fact, identity theft accounted for $16.8 billion in losses spread across 16.7 million victims in 2017. With nearly all of our financial and personal information living in the cloud, we are increasingly vulnerable to fraud and identity theft. In other words, a credit freeze helps to prevent new credit accounts from being established in your name.įreezing your credit (also known as placing a security freeze) is becoming increasingly important. Without that credit file, lenders generally will not extend credit to you – or anyone claiming to be you. Freezes prohibit consumer credit reporting agencies from disclosing the contents of a credit report to any person requesting the data. A credit freeze is one of the most important steps you can take to protect yourself from having identity thieves open credit accounts in your name.

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