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Ah, thanks! I thought they were talking about freezing it. The only fraud alert I know of was what was offered to me after the OPM hack. Instead, I just opted t

by KGIII 9y ago

Ah, thanks! I thought they were talking about freezing it. The only fraud alert I know of was what was offered to me after the OPM hack. Instead, I just opted to freeze my accounts and they've been frozen ever since.

bogomipz 9y ago
I think the whole "credit locking" thing is dubious at best however. For anyone that had their credit locked or frozen previously the hackers would have also gotten access to the pin numbers that permit the unlocking of one's credit file. What's to stop someone from using the PIN to unlock it and create before opening credit in a victims name?
- KGIII 9y ago
  Not a whole lot can be done to stop it. I'm really not sure what we can do, beyond freezing it. I guess we could add monitoring to it, but I'm not sure that will help. They should absolutely not allow PIN retrieval online and without a whole lot of serious vetting. That they do is yet another metaphorical kick in the teeth. I am just now learning about the PIN retrieval, so this may result in my needing to change strategies. Fortunately, I don't rely on credit. If I need credit, I can easily qualify for a secured loan. It also helps that I sat on the board at my credit union for a while. So, credit isn't a problem. I do feel sorry for those who aren't able to just stop using credit. See, according to what I've heard/read, freezing your credit actually negatively impacts your credit score. If you're freezing it, you must be at risk. Or so they seem to think. So, by defending yourself you are actually potentially harming yourself. It is already eating up your time, perhaps some money, and adding stress to the lives of many innocent people. Then, when you want to alleviate some of that stress, or reduce your risk of harm, it harms you even more. There isn't even a realistic option to opt out of the game. It's pretty horrifying and it is difficult to not be angry about it. I'm fairly well insulated but I can certainly empathize. I wish I had the answers. I wish I had a solution. I don't and I'm not sure anyone does.
  - bogomipz 9y ago
    >"See, according to what I've heard/read, freezing your credit actually negatively impacts your credit score." Do you have a link or some further explanation for this? I don't think this is true. It's actually the opposite - when someone runs your credit which can happen without your knowledge or approval then your credit will get dinged. By freezing it and not allowing anyone but existing creditors to access your profile you prevent this. Not having enough credit will keep you from obtaining a higher FICO score however. For instance you can have perfect credit but if you have to few credit cards your FICO score will be lower than someone who has perfect credit and has more credit cards. It's insane but true, its a metric called "balance to limit ratio": http://www.experian.com/blogs/ask-experian/getting-more-credit-cards-to-help-credit-scores/ http://www.experian.com/blogs/ask-experian/getting-more-cred...
    - KGIII 9y ago
      It looks like I was given bad information, which is surprising. The information came from someone who sits on the board at a local credit union. Citation of my error: https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0497-credit-freeze-faqs#score https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0497-credit-freeze-faq... Though, that link is strange in a new and interesting way. The page seems to indicate you can pull your credit score while your account is frozen. Except, if I look at Credit Karma, they say you can't register and access your credit report if your account is frozen. https://help.creditkarma.com/hc/en-us/articles/202041774-I-have-a-security-freeze-on-my-credit-reports-Can-I-still-use-Credit-Karma- https://help.creditkarma.com/hc/en-us/articles/202041774-I-h... It's surprisingly hard to find consistent information. I think this highlights another problem with the system.

by KGIII 9y ago

bogomipz 9y ago

I think the whole "credit locking" thing is dubious at best however. For anyone that had their credit locked or frozen previously the hackers would have also gotten access to the pin numbers that permit the unlocking of one's credit file. What's to stop someone from using the PIN to unlock it and create before opening credit in a victims name?

KGIII 9y ago
Not a whole lot can be done to stop it. I'm really not sure what we can do, beyond freezing it. I guess we could add monitoring to it, but I'm not sure that will help. They should absolutely not allow PIN retrieval online and without a whole lot of serious vetting. That they do is yet another metaphorical kick in the teeth. I am just now learning about the PIN retrieval, so this may result in my needing to change strategies. Fortunately, I don't rely on credit. If I need credit, I can easily qualify for a secured loan. It also helps that I sat on the board at my credit union for a while. So, credit isn't a problem. I do feel sorry for those who aren't able to just stop using credit. See, according to what I've heard/read, freezing your credit actually negatively impacts your credit score. If you're freezing it, you must be at risk. Or so they seem to think. So, by defending yourself you are actually potentially harming yourself. It is already eating up your time, perhaps some money, and adding stress to the lives of many innocent people. Then, when you want to alleviate some of that stress, or reduce your risk of harm, it harms you even more. There isn't even a realistic option to opt out of the game. It's pretty horrifying and it is difficult to not be angry about it. I'm fairly well insulated but I can certainly empathize. I wish I had the answers. I wish I had a solution. I don't and I'm not sure anyone does.
- bogomipz 9y ago
  >"See, according to what I've heard/read, freezing your credit actually negatively impacts your credit score." Do you have a link or some further explanation for this? I don't think this is true. It's actually the opposite - when someone runs your credit which can happen without your knowledge or approval then your credit will get dinged. By freezing it and not allowing anyone but existing creditors to access your profile you prevent this. Not having enough credit will keep you from obtaining a higher FICO score however. For instance you can have perfect credit but if you have to few credit cards your FICO score will be lower than someone who has perfect credit and has more credit cards. It's insane but true, its a metric called "balance to limit ratio": http://www.experian.com/blogs/ask-experian/getting-more-credit-cards-to-help-credit-scores/ http://www.experian.com/blogs/ask-experian/getting-more-cred...
  - KGIII 9y ago
    It looks like I was given bad information, which is surprising. The information came from someone who sits on the board at a local credit union. Citation of my error: https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0497-credit-freeze-faqs#score https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0497-credit-freeze-faq... Though, that link is strange in a new and interesting way. The page seems to indicate you can pull your credit score while your account is frozen. Except, if I look at Credit Karma, they say you can't register and access your credit report if your account is frozen. https://help.creditkarma.com/hc/en-us/articles/202041774-I-have-a-security-freeze-on-my-credit-reports-Can-I-still-use-Credit-Karma- https://help.creditkarma.com/hc/en-us/articles/202041774-I-h... It's surprisingly hard to find consistent information. I think this highlights another problem with the system.