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Be sure you use a credit freeze, not lock. Freezes are stronger protection, are regulated by Federal law, and the credit bureaus don't like them because you and

Be sure you use a credit freeze, not lock. Freezes are stronger protection, are regulated by Federal law, and the credit bureaus don't like them because you and your data cannot be as easily monetized. I'd call the latter point a sign that the freeze is working. It's more of a pain to thaw your credit than unlock it, but how often are you shopping for a loan? The slight inconvenience is worth it. t. used to work in that foul industry

sc00ty 5y ago
Is the pain of thawing a credit freeze just the fact that you have to do it for each of the three bureaus or is there more? It seems like other than that, as long as you have a 1 hour notice you should be fine. https://consumer.ftc.gov/consumer-alerts/2018/09/free-credit-freezes-are-here https://consumer.ftc.gov/consumer-alerts/2018/09/free-credit...
- aerostable_slug 5y ago
  It's not any more than that minor inconvenience. Also, you only need to thaw the account with the credit bureau your lender (or whomever) uses, so you just need to ask if they use Experian, TU, or Equifax.
- 4oo4 5y ago
  It's not that bad. As long as you have the links bookmarked and have your PIN saved, it's a 5 minute process. And you can even make it temporary, so if you are looking at getting qualified for a loan you could give yourself just enough time to get that accomplished. https://www.experian.com/freeze/center.html https://www.experian.com/freeze/center.html https://www.equifax.com/personal/credit-report-services/credit-freeze/ https://www.equifax.com/personal/credit-report-services/cred... https://www.transunion.com/credit-freeze https://www.transunion.com/credit-freeze Also, only kinda related but this is extremely useful too, it prevents you from getting junk credit card offers in the mail, that others could potentially do in your name: https://www.optoutprescreen.com/ https://www.optoutprescreen.com/ And if you want to make identity theft even harder for someone, using a service like this to make your info less searchable is also great: https://joindeleteme.com/ https://joindeleteme.com/
- op00to 5y ago
  It is generally free now and I can unlock all my freezes quickly and it instantly takes effect. I did it on the phone with a lender once. They didn’t believe it!

sc00ty 5y ago

Is the pain of thawing a credit freeze just the fact that you have to do it for each of the three bureaus or is there more? It seems like other than that, as long as you have a 1 hour notice you should be fine. https://consumer.ftc.gov/consumer-alerts/2018/09/free-credit-freezes-are-here https://consumer.ftc.gov/consumer-alerts/2018/09/free-credit...

aerostable_slug 5y ago
It's not any more than that minor inconvenience. Also, you only need to thaw the account with the credit bureau your lender (or whomever) uses, so you just need to ask if they use Experian, TU, or Equifax.
4oo4 5y ago
It's not that bad. As long as you have the links bookmarked and have your PIN saved, it's a 5 minute process. And you can even make it temporary, so if you are looking at getting qualified for a loan you could give yourself just enough time to get that accomplished. https://www.experian.com/freeze/center.html https://www.experian.com/freeze/center.html https://www.equifax.com/personal/credit-report-services/credit-freeze/ https://www.equifax.com/personal/credit-report-services/cred... https://www.transunion.com/credit-freeze https://www.transunion.com/credit-freeze Also, only kinda related but this is extremely useful too, it prevents you from getting junk credit card offers in the mail, that others could potentially do in your name: https://www.optoutprescreen.com/ https://www.optoutprescreen.com/ And if you want to make identity theft even harder for someone, using a service like this to make your info less searchable is also great: https://joindeleteme.com/ https://joindeleteme.com/
op00to 5y ago
It is generally free now and I can unlock all my freezes quickly and it instantly takes effect. I did it on the phone with a lender once. They didn’t believe it!