5 ms·

Is your wife ok? ;) But no, on a more serious note, the process should look more like: 1. Institution asks for Credit pull 2. Person gets alerted for approva

Is your wife ok? ;) But no, on a more serious note, the process should look more like: 1. Institution asks for Credit pull 2. Person gets alerted for approval of said request 3. After pull, credit remains locked

maxxxxx 9y ago
I am concerned about that wife but your process makes sense.
odammit 9y ago
Ha. I didn’t realize I did that. She’s cool ;)
- mulmen 9y ago
  Cool but not frozen?
njarboe 9y ago
Or maybe: 1. Bank loans money to a fraudster with your information. 2. Fraudster does not pay back the bank. 3. Bank commits libel and tells the credit agency that you defaulted on a loan 4. You tell the police that the bank broke the law. 5. Bank gets heavily fined and stops lying to the credit bureaus. 6. "Identify theft" no long exists.
g051051 9y ago
It does look like that now, for Equifax. Lock & Alert, as they call it, is free. https://www.equifax.com/personal/products/credit/credit-lock-alert/ https://www.equifax.com/personal/products/credit/credit-lock... I'm certain the other agencies are hard at work implementing the same feature.
- JoshuaEN 9y ago
  It's worth noting, as far as I can tell, that product offering ("Lock & Alert") is not (legally) the same as a credit freeze. Which means they aren't legally bound not to release your credit report to whomever they want (aka whoever pays them), and even in their own FAQ they admit they have far more exceptions for who can ignore the lock (plus vague wording) than a credit freeze legally allows (compare [0] and [1]). Further, one should ask why they are providing this free and easy service, while their actual credit freeze system is awful (at least in my experience)? Perhaps to push consumers to the not legally binding option so that they can continue to sell your "locked" credit report without legal consequences? [0] https://www.equifax.com/personal/products/credit/credit-lock-alert/ https://www.equifax.com/personal/products/credit/credit-lock... [1] https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0497-credit-freeze-faqs https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0497-credit-freeze-faq...
  - g051051 9y ago
    Most of those exceptions Equifax listed seem to be the same as on the government site you linked to: pre-screened credit offers, government agencies, debt collection, etc.
  - g051051 9y ago
    > Which means they aren't legally bound not to release your credit report to whomever they want (aka whoever pays them) Also, this isn't true. Purchasers must have "permissible purpose", which is regulated.

maxxxxx 9y ago

I am concerned about that wife but your process makes sense.

odammit 9y ago

Ha. I didn’t realize I did that. She’s cool ;)

mulmen 9y ago
Cool but not frozen?

njarboe 9y ago

Or maybe: 1. Bank loans money to a fraudster with your information. 2. Fraudster does not pay back the bank. 3. Bank commits libel and tells the credit agency that you defaulted on a loan 4. You tell the police that the bank broke the law. 5. Bank gets heavily fined and stops lying to the credit bureaus. 6. "Identify theft" no long exists.

g051051 9y ago

It does look like that now, for Equifax. Lock & Alert, as they call it, is free. https://www.equifax.com/personal/products/credit/credit-lock-alert/ https://www.equifax.com/personal/products/credit/credit-lock... I'm certain the other agencies are hard at work implementing the same feature.

JoshuaEN 9y ago
It's worth noting, as far as I can tell, that product offering ("Lock & Alert") is not (legally) the same as a credit freeze. Which means they aren't legally bound not to release your credit report to whomever they want (aka whoever pays them), and even in their own FAQ they admit they have far more exceptions for who can ignore the lock (plus vague wording) than a credit freeze legally allows (compare [0] and [1]). Further, one should ask why they are providing this free and easy service, while their actual credit freeze system is awful (at least in my experience)? Perhaps to push consumers to the not legally binding option so that they can continue to sell your "locked" credit report without legal consequences? [0] https://www.equifax.com/personal/products/credit/credit-lock-alert/ https://www.equifax.com/personal/products/credit/credit-lock... [1] https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0497-credit-freeze-faqs https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0497-credit-freeze-faq...
- g051051 9y ago
  Most of those exceptions Equifax listed seem to be the same as on the government site you linked to: pre-screened credit offers, government agencies, debt collection, etc.
- g051051 9y ago
  > Which means they aren't legally bound not to release your credit report to whomever they want (aka whoever pays them) Also, this isn't true. Purchasers must have "permissible purpose", which is regulated.