A credit freeze (which is sometimes known as a "security freeze") helps to protect you from identity theft and financial fraud. In this article we'll briefly explain what it is, why you might want to place one, and how you can do it.
: The information in this article applies to the United States. Laws and procedures in other countries or regions may not be the same.
What is a credit freeze?
When you go to open a new credit account (such as for a new credit card, car loan, or other credit account) one of the first things the credit issuer is going to do is check your credit report with one or more of the national credit bureaus. That credit report tells them your credit history and helps them decide whether to accept or decline the new account.
A credit freeze tells the credit bureau that your credit report is locked - if anybody requests your credit report for the purposes of opening a new account the bureau won't provide it. That makes it extremely difficult for anybody - including you - to open a new credit account in your name while the freeze is in place.
: There are a few exceptions to the freeze; organizations who can still view your credit report under certain circumstances. These include:
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Companies that provide you with a copy of your credit report for you to review
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Federal, state, and local government agencies (including courts)
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Companies using the info for background checks or identity verification such as insurance, employment, or housing
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Companies who already have an open account with you, including collection agencies collecting a debt you're alleged to owe
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Companies that want to make pre-approved offers of credit or insurance to you (there is a separate way to opt-out of these)
While freezing your credit makes it very hard for people to open new accounts in your name it doesn't affect any existing accounts (legitimate or fraudulent) that may have been opened when your credit wasn't frozen.
Just as you can freeze your credit you can also unfreeze your credit if you need to open a legitimate new account.
Why would you want to place a freeze on your credit?
If fraudulent or suspicious accounts are being opened in your name, then it's probably a wise move to place a freeze on your credit to prevent additional accounts from being opened.
Some people will place a freeze just in case. Since 2018 it's been free to freeze, or unfreeze, your credit so if you're not planning to open any new credit accounts soon it may be a good idea for you to freeze your credit as an extra precaution.
: It's U.S. federal law, enacted in 2018, that says freezing and unfreezing your credit has to be free. If somebody tries to charge you for it, they're probably trying to get you to do a "credit lock" which is a premium service similar to, but not the same as, a credit freeze, that many agencies offer.
Placing a freeze on your credit does not affect your credit score.
How do you place a freeze on your credit?
To place a freeze on your credit you need to contact the credit bureaus to request the freeze. It's important to know that there are THREE national credit bureaus in the United States and you'll need to place a freeze with each of them.
You'll find the instructions on these pages:
There is no charge to freeze (or unfreeze) your credit with any of these agencies.
Identity thieves sometimes like to go after the identities of kids. They rarely have any negative marks on their credit yet, and--most importantly--most people don't think to monitor their kids' credit reports because they assume their child wouldn't have any activity. That means the thief is less likely to be detected using a child's identity. In fact, many children have their identities compromised before the age of 18, often without anybody noticing.
Freezing your child's credit makes a lot of sense, chances are low that your child is financing a house or car or opening their own credit cards.
Freezing your child's credit is essentially the same process as freezing your own. You need to go to each of the three national credit bureaus (see above) and follow their steps. The difference is that you'll need to provide your child's social security number and other information, and you'll need to prove that you're their legal guardian and thus allowed to freeze their credit.
How do you unfreeze your credit?
Unfreezing your credit works much the same way freezing does, just in reverse. You need to sign into each of the national credit bureaus and request your credit be unfrozen.
As with freezing your credit, federal law requires the agencies to unfreeze your credit for free. The law also requires that it should take no more than 1 hour for an unfreeze request to take effect after you request it online.
