How to freeze your credit: Everything you need to know

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How to freeze your credit: Everything yous need to know

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Freezing your credit is the single most important thing you tin practise to minimize your risk of identity theft. Fortunately, it's costless and piece of cake to do, although each of the Big Three U.S. credit-reporting agencies has slightly different procedures for setting information technology up.

One time you lot set upwards a credit freeze, only those companies with which yous already do business concern will get to come across your credit file, and it volition be almost impossible for someone else to set upwards a new account in your name. Credit freezes are permanent until you decide otherwise.

• Credit study vs. credit score — what'due south the divergence?
• The best identity theft protection services

The downside is that it'll exist virtually impossible for you lot to set up a new account or get a new line of credit too. This will be a trouble if you're trying to get a car loan or a mortgage, or even trying to switch wireless carriers.

So each credit bureau likewise makes it easy to "unfreeze" or "lift" the freeze temporarily or permanently. You can exercise so with a password or PIN, and set the constructive dates and duration of the freeze-elevator if it's temporary. Changes in freeze status accept a couple of hours to go into effect — legally, up to 24 hours — then plan appropriately.

Freezing your credit takes only a few minutes, and you can do it online, over the phone or by mail. You'll need to have your Social Security number handy, and be prepared to reply some questions about by residences and credit accounts.

To exist thorough, you'll want to freeze your credit with all three of the major credit-reporting agencies: Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. Here are links to our guides on how to set up credit freezes with each of them.

• How to freeze your credit with Equifax
• How to freeze your credit with Experian
• How to freeze your credit with TransUnion

Paul Wagenseil is a senior editor at Tom's Guide focused on security and privacy. He has besides been a dishwasher, fry cook, long-haul driver, code monkey and video editor. He's been rooting around in the information-security space for more than xv years at FoxNews.com, SecurityNewsDaily, TechNewsDaily and Tom'due south Guide, has presented talks at the ShmooCon, DerbyCon and BSides Las Vegas hacker conferences, shown upwardly in random Tv news spots and even moderated a console discussion at the CEDIA home-engineering conference. You tin can follow his rants on Twitter at @snd_wagenseil.

Source: https://www.tomsguide.com/how-to/how-to-freeze-credit

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