A credit freeze keeps lenders from pulling your credit report, so a thief can’t open new credit in your name, and it’s free at Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. Freeze all three today, then lift it briefly whenever you apply for credit, an apartment, a job, or insurance.
Credit monitoring tells you after a thief opens an account in your name. A freeze keeps the account from being opened, and you don’t need a breach notice or a stolen Social Security number to get one.
The block covers you too. The Federal Trade Commission notes that while a freeze is on, nobody can open new credit in your name, you included, and it stays on until you lift it. It doesn’t affect your credit score, and it does nothing for accounts you already have.
The alternatives are weaker. A fraud alert, free for a year, asks lenders to confirm your identity before approving new credit, but it doesn’t hide your report from them. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau says the credit locks the bureaus sell for a fee are no more effective than a freeze, and a freeze comes with deadlines set by federal law.
Place it separately at Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. Each bureau handles its own freeze, and a request made online or by phone has to take effect within one business day. If your child is under 16, you can freeze their credit for free too.
Lifting it is quick. A lift requested online or by phone has to take effect within an hour. That means you can lift it the same day you apply for a card, a loan, a lease, a job, or an insurance policy, then refreeze.
Once all three files are frozen, the next breach notice is a reason to check your statements, not to scramble.
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