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I was able to freeze my credit through on-line forms using instructions here: https://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/identity_theft https://www.reddit.c

I was able to freeze my credit through on-line forms using instructions here: https://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/identity_theft https://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/identity_theft Fees vary by state. I think I paid ~$20 total and not all of them charged me.

__jal 9y ago
Oof. I really don't want to give these incompetent losers my credit card number.
- ddoolin 9y ago
  Seconded. _Really_ do not want to give them my money, as it they've earned it. This is their screw up.
- pkulak 9y ago
  I use privacy.com for things like this.
- throwaway613834 9y ago
  Credit card number is the last thing you should be worried about.
- tonyztan 9y ago
  They already have your credit card numbers. Banks report the numbers to them.
  - zdkl 9y ago
    I'm amazed these events don't seem to shake the american love for credit cards. Like now you've seen what happens in the extra layers between you and the money, I wish people would go back on the poison pill and maybe switch to debit cards.
    - umanwizard 9y ago
      Credit cards are great because if someone steals mine and makes fraudulent charges, they're stealing Chase's money, not mine. (In theory if someone steals money through your debit card you can get it back... in theory. I'd like to avoid ever having to find out how well this works in practice).
      - zdkl 9y ago
        For which priviledge Chase charges you something obscene. The process post-theft on a debit card is not as scary as you seem to think it is, but that may be a EU vs US rather than credit vs debit thing.
        umanwizard 9y ago
        Chase isn't charging me anything for the privilege. I have two credit cards with them -- one with a $0 fee and the other with a $450 yearly fee (but on which I earn way more than $450 in rewards points a year so it washes out). They charge interest, but you don't pay any interest if you settle the full balance every month, which I always do.
        zdkl 9y ago
        I'm sure the maths work out at an individual level, but have you considered the effect on pricing being a debit-first society would have? Most merchants/payment processors include a premium for handling the edge cases that arise from credit-linked misbehaviour. In the same way you sometimes get a cash discount, removing the merchant/provider protections should show up in your wallet as a good (and surprisingly high) surprise. As I understand it (please correct me), the party who gains for the furtherance of this agenda is the financial service sector who has another opportunity to insert marginal fees and more importantly, a direct access to your transactions without necessarily having the same fiduciary duty or alignement of goals than a bank teller/account manager would have.

__jal 9y ago

Oof. I really don't want to give these incompetent losers my credit card number.

ddoolin 9y ago
Seconded. _Really_ do not want to give them my money, as it they've earned it. This is their screw up.
pkulak 9y ago
I use privacy.com for things like this.
throwaway613834 9y ago
Credit card number is the last thing you should be worried about.
tonyztan 9y ago
They already have your credit card numbers. Banks report the numbers to them.
- zdkl 9y ago
  I'm amazed these events don't seem to shake the american love for credit cards. Like now you've seen what happens in the extra layers between you and the money, I wish people would go back on the poison pill and maybe switch to debit cards.
  - umanwizard 9y ago
    Credit cards are great because if someone steals mine and makes fraudulent charges, they're stealing Chase's money, not mine. (In theory if someone steals money through your debit card you can get it back... in theory. I'd like to avoid ever having to find out how well this works in practice).
    - zdkl 9y ago
      For which priviledge Chase charges you something obscene. The process post-theft on a debit card is not as scary as you seem to think it is, but that may be a EU vs US rather than credit vs debit thing.
      - umanwizard 9y ago
        Chase isn't charging me anything for the privilege. I have two credit cards with them -- one with a $0 fee and the other with a $450 yearly fee (but on which I earn way more than $450 in rewards points a year so it washes out). They charge interest, but you don't pay any interest if you settle the full balance every month, which I always do.
        zdkl 9y ago
        I'm sure the maths work out at an individual level, but have you considered the effect on pricing being a debit-first society would have? Most merchants/payment processors include a premium for handling the edge cases that arise from credit-linked misbehaviour. In the same way you sometimes get a cash discount, removing the merchant/provider protections should show up in your wallet as a good (and surprisingly high) surprise. As I understand it (please correct me), the party who gains for the furtherance of this agenda is the financial service sector who has another opportunity to insert marginal fees and more importantly, a direct access to your transactions without necessarily having the same fiduciary duty or alignement of goals than a bank teller/account manager would have.