10 ms·

It's definitely worth taking the time to set up a credit freeze with the three big agencies (Experian, TransUnion, Equifax). Initially setting it up is a pain i

It's definitely worth taking the time to set up a credit freeze with the three big agencies (Experian, TransUnion, Equifax). Initially setting it up is a pain in the butt and is rage-inducing, as you have to provide a bunch of personal data when the whole problem in the first place is that they're careless with your data. However, once you've got it set up, it's very easy to freeze and unfreeze them. Just keep all the URLs, usernames, and passwords in a secure note somewhere, and any time you need to apply for credit, unfreeze them for a day or a week. I used to have all sorts of identity theft problems (people taking out credit in my name) but freezing my credit has solved it. Experian: https://www.experian.com/freeze/center.html https://www.experian.com/freeze/center.html TransUnion: https://www.transunion.com/credit-freeze https://www.transunion.com/credit-freeze Equifax: https://www.equifax.com/personal/credit-report-services/credit-freeze/ https://www.equifax.com/personal/credit-report-services/cred... I truly hate these companies but holding my nose and going through the process was worthwhile and I'd recommend it to anyone.

WirelessGigabit 3y ago
15 character max password at TransUnion... How outdated is their system? And none of the 3 allow MFA via something else than text/email.
scrumlord 3y ago
[dead]
TheFreim 3y ago
I've never taken on any debt in my life, would I still need to do this or an I fine since I've never initialized anything in the first place?
- hairofadog 3y ago
  That's a really good question that I don't know the answer to. I would guess that they have a file on you somehow – Utility bills? Landlords checking your credit? But I'm not confident enough to know what would be the best thing to do in that scenario.
  - ohthatsnotright 3y ago
    In the US utilities are normally yet another credit reporting agency: https://www.consumerfinance.gov/consumer-tools/credit-reports-and-scores/consumer-reporting-companies/companies-list/national-consumer-telecom-utilities-exchange/ https://www.consumerfinance.gov/consumer-tools/credit-report...
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]
- ccorcos 3y ago
  Do you have a credit card? That is technically debt. If someone has your information, they can open a credit card under your name and max it out. Or even more common, they’ll get a car loan under your name. Since loans are furnished at the end of the day, they’ll often get 2 or 3 car loans in the same day.
  - TheFreim 3y ago
    I don't have a credit card, I only ever pay using cash or debit card directly from my bank account.
- mhardcastle 3y ago
  Somebody using your social security number and other information would be able to apply for credit. As soon as they do that, the bureau(s) called by the lender would have a file on "you". The federal government requires that all three major bureaus (Experian, Equifax, TransUnion) provide you one credit report each per year, for free. You can request it here, the official source for these mandated free reports: https://www.annualcreditreport.com/index.action https://www.annualcreditreport.com/index.action
  - TheFreim 3y ago
    Thank you for the information, I'll look into this.
- somehnguy 3y ago
  Yes, still worthwhile. The bureaus collect all sorts of information and attach it to you regardless of whether the information is even correctly attributed. A freeze might prevent some of that nonsense. I had a difficult time getting loans to go to college many years ago. Come to find out my credit was through the floor due to all 3 agencies misattributing dozens of pages of bad loans to me starting when I was only a toddler. The middle initials & socials were 1 character off each, but it all still went to my name. Unfortunately I didn't have the knowledge to freeze my credit when I was 3 years old - my fault, I should have known I would later suffer the consequences of my inaction.
  - samstave 3y ago
    You have to be the dumbest toddler I have ever met! - We need a financial revolution (which is what OWS was all about -- and you know how they responded to that - especially in SFO.... "people are mad at the FED!, so must remove all planter boxes in front of the SF FED and install giant granite bollards and update our lifting stop gate at the entrance - and we have to get our fed workers to stop bragging about their $30,000 a month bonuses loudly on BART (yes this is an actual thing)
- tylercrompton 3y ago
  It doesn't matter that you don't take on debt. The point is to protect yourself from unscrupulous individuals who want you to take on debt on their behalf.
- dogman144 3y ago
  Full stop, yes you should freeze. Issue isn’t if you have debt or not. Credit rating agencies start tracking very early, and what they’ll track for you is basically “no data/low credit score.” That doesn’t mean you’re not in the system, or more importantly - doesn’t mean qn attacker can’t take out debt in your name. A freeze is the only thing that stops this for you and your kids. I hate that it works this way but such is life.
- whimsicalism 3y ago
  > I've never taken on any debt in my life Why not? Do you ever anticipate getting a mortgage? If yes, then you probably should be.
  - TheFreim 3y ago
    I don't plan on ever getting a mortgage. I am extremely debt averse, I'd rather live frugally than essentially being a slave to the bank/creditor for years.
    - whimsicalism 3y ago
      This will also impede your ability to get rentals. I only take on debt I can immediately pay off (ie. credit card debt), but it still is important to demonstrate to creditors.
  - ChrisMarshallNY 3y ago
    Sadly, if they are under 35, they may never have the chance. Home ownership seems to be going the way of the Dodo. But credit scores are used for apartment rentals, and even employment.
    - PaulDavisThe1st 3y ago
      > if they are under 35, they may never have the chance. Home ownership seems to be going the way of the Dodo. This is false. Millenials are trailing previous generations a little, but > 50% of them now own homes: https://rentalhousingjournal.com/more-than-50-percent-of-millennials-now-own-homes/ https://rentalhousingjournal.com/more-than-50-percent-of-mil...
      - SketchySeaBeast 3y ago
        Hmm, given the average age of a millenial is ~33 the statistic and the claim (exaggerated as it is) don't necessarily need to be totally out of alignment.
- gumby 3y ago
  Like FB, LinkedIn etc the credit bureaux maintain a file on everyone they come across. So they likely have a file on you regardless. In addition, in the US these files are used for other purposes than taking out a loan, for example renting an apartment, for some jobs, etc. I recommend building up a credit history even if you don't need it now. You might later. There are plenty of articles on the web about how to start, basically getting a credit card (perhaps secured) and slowly building up your credit. I am lucky enough to be a cash buyer. I tried to rent a house for a year a few months ago but my credit rating was not good enough. I have a couple of credit cards which I pay off every month (so good, my credit utilization is low) but by the rating companys' POV there wasn't enough to go on: not enough accounts, and no accounts apart from the CCs: no mortgage, no car payments etc. The fact that I'm a homeowner doesn't appear in the report.
- dylan604 3y ago
  First, you should take this quiz by telling "us" your mother's maiden name, the name of the street you grew up on, your elementary school's name, the name of your first grade teacher, the name of your first pet, the make/model of your first car, and to help make sure we know it's you, please enter your SSN# which also helps keep all of this info from being confused with someone else. After all of that, please, continue to avoid taking on any debt. We will relieve you of that burden
- lr4444lr 3y ago
  Have you paid a utility bill? Signed up for a utility account? Had a credit check run for an apartment for made payments on a lease? You are probably in the system. Learn to play it before it plays you.
alfon 3y ago
Would a credit freeze prevent data brokers also accessing the credit header?
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]
oxygen_crisis 3y ago
Obligatory rant against the "Identity Theft" deception promoted by banks. The victims of fraud in these cases are the banks, not you. You still have your identity. The banks/creditors gave their money (not yours) to a criminal through their own neglect. It's an unconscionable fantasy that you as an individual are the victim in these situations when you had no involvement whatsoever. Laws need to be updated to reflect this reality. Banks will continue to act haphazardly so long as they are allowed to pass the bill for their own carelessness onto innocent people. Awareness should be spread by disavowing the entire "identity theft" deceit any time it comes up in a public forum. Highly relevant Mitchell and Webb radio skit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CS9ptA3Ya9E https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CS9ptA3Ya9E
- zamadatix 3y ago
  You build up a reputation for being a reliable borrower of debts or a good/clean societal record and someone steals that identity to abuse it and leave you with the baggage. You report "Identity Theft" to regain that identity and reputation, not on behalf of the money banks lost to fraudsters, hence the name. There are plenty of things wrong with the current credit identity system, the name of identity theft is either not one of them at all or near the bottom of the list.
  - oxygen_crisis 3y ago
    > someone steals that identity This is exactly the fantasy that we need to dispel, not rationalize. Nobody steals your identity. You always have your identity, and nobody else ever does. Your identity is not the few pieces of trivia a criminal can easily discover about you. The criminal never takes or has your identity. The bank is simply neglecting to correctly identify someone. > steals that identity to abuse it Criminals are not abusing your identity, they are abusing the banks' careless failure to correctly identify people. > to abuse it and leave you with the baggage The criminal is not leaving you with the baggage, the bank is. They use willfully inept processes, because they have tricked you into believing you should bear the responsibility for the consequences of their own hubris.
Rygian 3y ago
Why is it not the default?
mymac 3y ago
It is pretty wild that people can take out credit in your name without the issuer of the credit doing their dd, and then it causes you trouble afterwards. They should be fined massively for every time that this happens.
- samstave 3y ago
  Before I actually had kids was the first .com bust... I was unemployed as were many in bay area and I filed for unemployment or medical (i cant recall now) but I was told that I was ineligible for benefits because I had a bunch of unpaid child support and other debts in Los Angeles... (never lived there, no kids at time, avoid LA all my life) It took me months to prove that I wasa childless, 20-something dork in bay area... nightmare - but any "credit" agency is scum
  - Loughla 3y ago
    Not to be that guy, but I have one better. My nephew is now 20. When he was 5 we gifted him some cash in a savings account (to teach him about money stuff). We were immediately served notice that he was overdue on two mortgages. It took three years to get that straightened out (and find out that his ss# was already compromised). What a mess. What kind of an agency would see the ss#for a literal child and just think, yep, this is fine.
    - bell-cot 3y ago
      Sounds kinda similar to a former coworker ~2 decades ago. Tried to get a mortgage, rejected, he obtained his credit file...and ~80% of the stuff in "his" credit report was for similar-named people (mostly living in the same part of the U.S.). Report said that he had purchased a house at age 5, based on the well-paid job he got at Ford Motor Co. at age 4, etc., etc.
      - jimt1234 3y ago
        It's pretty much impossible to get your free annual credit report these days. It used to be relatively painless, but now you get slammed with ads for credit monitoring or whatever useless products. Or, the website just doesn't work, redirect to a page telling you to send a letter to some rando PO box. I used to get my free credit report every year, but I stopped, which I'm sure is exactly what these scumbags want.
StillBored 3y ago
As a long time freeze user, it seems literally every time I go to unfreeze the process has changed at one of them and it can't be unlocked with the username +password I setup. The last time was because I didn't log in for 3 years, meant that the account was locked without a bunch of additional validation. Sometimes the validation is just knowing the usual historical address/etc info they ask when you initially set it up (which seems insecure itself), or its more involved. So, give it time, when you least expect it, they will take 60 days to validate something about your account before allowing you to unfreeze it.
- aceazzameen 3y ago
  This is my experience as well. Saving a username and password almost feels like it's worthless with these cretins. And then the dark patterns to upsell you on garbage hiding the actual unfreeze/thaw button.
  - deleted 3y ago
    [deleted]
- flotwig 3y ago
  TransUnion is broken for me, has been for years. I have to reset my password every single time.
- wolverine876 3y ago
  Complain to the FTC (or the appropriate regulator). They are now very cognizant of dark patterns.
thesis 3y ago
Many people don’t know this but you also need to set up a freeze at https://nctue.com/consumers/ https://nctue.com/consumers/ I had to deal fraudsters getting cell phones and also electricity to their apartment. Setting a freeze up here solved it.
- windexh8er 3y ago
  Thank you for this, I had no idea this was a thing. Out of curiosity how did you find out about this?
  - hoosieree 3y ago
    Maybe from here: https://www.equifax.com/business/data-network/nctue/ https://www.equifax.com/business/data-network/nctue/ Seems to be an Equifax product.
  - thesis 3y ago
    I really don’t remember. But I kept getting people creating different accounts that I wouldnt know about until it went to collections and dinged my credit. Took me a couple years to finally get it locked down. After 5ish police reports and ftc identity theft reports that all these energy/cell phone companies require for you to dispute. It’s maddening that these companies give out service with wrong variations of my name and no ID but then want me to jump through hours of hoops to get it removed from collections. Luckily I got it all resolved prior to rates shooting up so I was able to refi at all time low rates or this would have cost me a lot of money.
- kmoser 3y ago
  I wonder which is worse: not setting up a freeze and risk being the victim of identity theft, or setting up a freeze by submitting your info and risk having it stolen from NCTUE?
- 2023throwawayy 3y ago
  > Q. Can I opt out of pre-approved offers based on NCTUE data? > A. Yes. NCTUE provides information to companies that provide consumers with pre-approved offers of credit. If you would like to Opt-Out and exclude NCTUE information about you from being used in lists provided to companies that make pre-approved offers of credit (as provided in the Fair Credit Reporting Act), you may call us toll free at 1-888-327-4376. > You may also submit your request via mail to NCTUE at the address below. Please include your name, address, Social Security number and date of birth in your request. ... well that is infuriating.
lr4444lr 3y ago
This should be taught to every high school senior before we let them off into the world.
arbuge 3y ago
But would freezing your credit in any way help with the problem identified in the article? (sale of your credit header data) Specifically: 1. Would it prevent any future occurrences? 2. Would it do anything to help with the leaks that have already occurred?
isykt 3y ago
Note that Experian runs their own protection racket called “Credit Lock” that is different from a freeze. It costs money. The freeze doesn’t cost money only because congress mandated that it be free. That’s right, these fuckwits are so irresponsible and greedy that congress actually got off their sorry asses and made a tiny piece of legislation that actually protects consumers.

WirelessGigabit 3y ago

15 character max password at TransUnion... How outdated is their system? And none of the 3 allow MFA via something else than text/email.

scrumlord 3y ago

[dead]

TheFreim 3y ago

I've never taken on any debt in my life, would I still need to do this or an I fine since I've never initialized anything in the first place?

hairofadog 3y ago
That's a really good question that I don't know the answer to. I would guess that they have a file on you somehow – Utility bills? Landlords checking your credit? But I'm not confident enough to know what would be the best thing to do in that scenario.
- ohthatsnotright 3y ago
  In the US utilities are normally yet another credit reporting agency: https://www.consumerfinance.gov/consumer-tools/credit-reports-and-scores/consumer-reporting-companies/companies-list/national-consumer-telecom-utilities-exchange/ https://www.consumerfinance.gov/consumer-tools/credit-report...
deleted 3y ago
[deleted]
ccorcos 3y ago
Do you have a credit card? That is technically debt. If someone has your information, they can open a credit card under your name and max it out. Or even more common, they’ll get a car loan under your name. Since loans are furnished at the end of the day, they’ll often get 2 or 3 car loans in the same day.
- TheFreim 3y ago
  I don't have a credit card, I only ever pay using cash or debit card directly from my bank account.
mhardcastle 3y ago
Somebody using your social security number and other information would be able to apply for credit. As soon as they do that, the bureau(s) called by the lender would have a file on "you". The federal government requires that all three major bureaus (Experian, Equifax, TransUnion) provide you one credit report each per year, for free. You can request it here, the official source for these mandated free reports: https://www.annualcreditreport.com/index.action https://www.annualcreditreport.com/index.action
- TheFreim 3y ago
  Thank you for the information, I'll look into this.
somehnguy 3y ago
Yes, still worthwhile. The bureaus collect all sorts of information and attach it to you regardless of whether the information is even correctly attributed. A freeze might prevent some of that nonsense. I had a difficult time getting loans to go to college many years ago. Come to find out my credit was through the floor due to all 3 agencies misattributing dozens of pages of bad loans to me starting when I was only a toddler. The middle initials & socials were 1 character off each, but it all still went to my name. Unfortunately I didn't have the knowledge to freeze my credit when I was 3 years old - my fault, I should have known I would later suffer the consequences of my inaction.
- samstave 3y ago
  You have to be the dumbest toddler I have ever met! - We need a financial revolution (which is what OWS was all about -- and you know how they responded to that - especially in SFO.... "people are mad at the FED!, so must remove all planter boxes in front of the SF FED and install giant granite bollards and update our lifting stop gate at the entrance - and we have to get our fed workers to stop bragging about their $30,000 a month bonuses loudly on BART (yes this is an actual thing)
tylercrompton 3y ago
It doesn't matter that you don't take on debt. The point is to protect yourself from unscrupulous individuals who want you to take on debt on their behalf.
dogman144 3y ago
Full stop, yes you should freeze. Issue isn’t if you have debt or not. Credit rating agencies start tracking very early, and what they’ll track for you is basically “no data/low credit score.” That doesn’t mean you’re not in the system, or more importantly - doesn’t mean qn attacker can’t take out debt in your name. A freeze is the only thing that stops this for you and your kids. I hate that it works this way but such is life.
whimsicalism 3y ago
> I've never taken on any debt in my life Why not? Do you ever anticipate getting a mortgage? If yes, then you probably should be.
- TheFreim 3y ago
  I don't plan on ever getting a mortgage. I am extremely debt averse, I'd rather live frugally than essentially being a slave to the bank/creditor for years.
  - whimsicalism 3y ago
    This will also impede your ability to get rentals. I only take on debt I can immediately pay off (ie. credit card debt), but it still is important to demonstrate to creditors.
- ChrisMarshallNY 3y ago
  Sadly, if they are under 35, they may never have the chance. Home ownership seems to be going the way of the Dodo. But credit scores are used for apartment rentals, and even employment.
  - PaulDavisThe1st 3y ago
    > if they are under 35, they may never have the chance. Home ownership seems to be going the way of the Dodo. This is false. Millenials are trailing previous generations a little, but > 50% of them now own homes: https://rentalhousingjournal.com/more-than-50-percent-of-millennials-now-own-homes/ https://rentalhousingjournal.com/more-than-50-percent-of-mil...
    - SketchySeaBeast 3y ago
      Hmm, given the average age of a millenial is ~33 the statistic and the claim (exaggerated as it is) don't necessarily need to be totally out of alignment.
gumby 3y ago
Like FB, LinkedIn etc the credit bureaux maintain a file on everyone they come across. So they likely have a file on you regardless. In addition, in the US these files are used for other purposes than taking out a loan, for example renting an apartment, for some jobs, etc. I recommend building up a credit history even if you don't need it now. You might later. There are plenty of articles on the web about how to start, basically getting a credit card (perhaps secured) and slowly building up your credit. I am lucky enough to be a cash buyer. I tried to rent a house for a year a few months ago but my credit rating was not good enough. I have a couple of credit cards which I pay off every month (so good, my credit utilization is low) but by the rating companys' POV there wasn't enough to go on: not enough accounts, and no accounts apart from the CCs: no mortgage, no car payments etc. The fact that I'm a homeowner doesn't appear in the report.
dylan604 3y ago
First, you should take this quiz by telling "us" your mother's maiden name, the name of the street you grew up on, your elementary school's name, the name of your first grade teacher, the name of your first pet, the make/model of your first car, and to help make sure we know it's you, please enter your SSN# which also helps keep all of this info from being confused with someone else. After all of that, please, continue to avoid taking on any debt. We will relieve you of that burden
lr4444lr 3y ago
Have you paid a utility bill? Signed up for a utility account? Had a credit check run for an apartment for made payments on a lease? You are probably in the system. Learn to play it before it plays you.

alfon 3y ago

Would a credit freeze prevent data brokers also accessing the credit header?

deleted 3y ago
[deleted]

oxygen_crisis 3y ago

Obligatory rant against the "Identity Theft" deception promoted by banks. The victims of fraud in these cases are the banks, not you. You still have your identity. The banks/creditors gave their money (not yours) to a criminal through their own neglect. It's an unconscionable fantasy that you as an individual are the victim in these situations when you had no involvement whatsoever. Laws need to be updated to reflect this reality. Banks will continue to act haphazardly so long as they are allowed to pass the bill for their own carelessness onto innocent people. Awareness should be spread by disavowing the entire "identity theft" deceit any time it comes up in a public forum. Highly relevant Mitchell and Webb radio skit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CS9ptA3Ya9E https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CS9ptA3Ya9E

zamadatix 3y ago
You build up a reputation for being a reliable borrower of debts or a good/clean societal record and someone steals that identity to abuse it and leave you with the baggage. You report "Identity Theft" to regain that identity and reputation, not on behalf of the money banks lost to fraudsters, hence the name. There are plenty of things wrong with the current credit identity system, the name of identity theft is either not one of them at all or near the bottom of the list.
- oxygen_crisis 3y ago
  > someone steals that identity This is exactly the fantasy that we need to dispel, not rationalize. Nobody steals your identity. You always have your identity, and nobody else ever does. Your identity is not the few pieces of trivia a criminal can easily discover about you. The criminal never takes or has your identity. The bank is simply neglecting to correctly identify someone. > steals that identity to abuse it Criminals are not abusing your identity, they are abusing the banks' careless failure to correctly identify people. > to abuse it and leave you with the baggage The criminal is not leaving you with the baggage, the bank is. They use willfully inept processes, because they have tricked you into believing you should bear the responsibility for the consequences of their own hubris.

Rygian 3y ago

Why is it not the default?

mymac 3y ago

It is pretty wild that people can take out credit in your name without the issuer of the credit doing their dd, and then it causes you trouble afterwards. They should be fined massively for every time that this happens.

samstave 3y ago
Before I actually had kids was the first .com bust... I was unemployed as were many in bay area and I filed for unemployment or medical (i cant recall now) but I was told that I was ineligible for benefits because I had a bunch of unpaid child support and other debts in Los Angeles... (never lived there, no kids at time, avoid LA all my life) It took me months to prove that I wasa childless, 20-something dork in bay area... nightmare - but any "credit" agency is scum
- Loughla 3y ago
  Not to be that guy, but I have one better. My nephew is now 20. When he was 5 we gifted him some cash in a savings account (to teach him about money stuff). We were immediately served notice that he was overdue on two mortgages. It took three years to get that straightened out (and find out that his ss# was already compromised). What a mess. What kind of an agency would see the ss#for a literal child and just think, yep, this is fine.
  - bell-cot 3y ago
    Sounds kinda similar to a former coworker ~2 decades ago. Tried to get a mortgage, rejected, he obtained his credit file...and ~80% of the stuff in "his" credit report was for similar-named people (mostly living in the same part of the U.S.). Report said that he had purchased a house at age 5, based on the well-paid job he got at Ford Motor Co. at age 4, etc., etc.
    - jimt1234 3y ago
      It's pretty much impossible to get your free annual credit report these days. It used to be relatively painless, but now you get slammed with ads for credit monitoring or whatever useless products. Or, the website just doesn't work, redirect to a page telling you to send a letter to some rando PO box. I used to get my free credit report every year, but I stopped, which I'm sure is exactly what these scumbags want.

StillBored 3y ago

As a long time freeze user, it seems literally every time I go to unfreeze the process has changed at one of them and it can't be unlocked with the username +password I setup. The last time was because I didn't log in for 3 years, meant that the account was locked without a bunch of additional validation. Sometimes the validation is just knowing the usual historical address/etc info they ask when you initially set it up (which seems insecure itself), or its more involved. So, give it time, when you least expect it, they will take 60 days to validate something about your account before allowing you to unfreeze it.

aceazzameen 3y ago
This is my experience as well. Saving a username and password almost feels like it's worthless with these cretins. And then the dark patterns to upsell you on garbage hiding the actual unfreeze/thaw button.
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]
flotwig 3y ago
TransUnion is broken for me, has been for years. I have to reset my password every single time.
wolverine876 3y ago
Complain to the FTC (or the appropriate regulator). They are now very cognizant of dark patterns.

thesis 3y ago

Many people don’t know this but you also need to set up a freeze at https://nctue.com/consumers/ https://nctue.com/consumers/ I had to deal fraudsters getting cell phones and also electricity to their apartment. Setting a freeze up here solved it.

windexh8er 3y ago
Thank you for this, I had no idea this was a thing. Out of curiosity how did you find out about this?
- hoosieree 3y ago
  Maybe from here: https://www.equifax.com/business/data-network/nctue/ https://www.equifax.com/business/data-network/nctue/ Seems to be an Equifax product.
- thesis 3y ago
  I really don’t remember. But I kept getting people creating different accounts that I wouldnt know about until it went to collections and dinged my credit. Took me a couple years to finally get it locked down. After 5ish police reports and ftc identity theft reports that all these energy/cell phone companies require for you to dispute. It’s maddening that these companies give out service with wrong variations of my name and no ID but then want me to jump through hours of hoops to get it removed from collections. Luckily I got it all resolved prior to rates shooting up so I was able to refi at all time low rates or this would have cost me a lot of money.
kmoser 3y ago
I wonder which is worse: not setting up a freeze and risk being the victim of identity theft, or setting up a freeze by submitting your info and risk having it stolen from NCTUE?
2023throwawayy 3y ago
> Q. Can I opt out of pre-approved offers based on NCTUE data? > A. Yes. NCTUE provides information to companies that provide consumers with pre-approved offers of credit. If you would like to Opt-Out and exclude NCTUE information about you from being used in lists provided to companies that make pre-approved offers of credit (as provided in the Fair Credit Reporting Act), you may call us toll free at 1-888-327-4376. > You may also submit your request via mail to NCTUE at the address below. Please include your name, address, Social Security number and date of birth in your request. ... well that is infuriating.

lr4444lr 3y ago

This should be taught to every high school senior before we let them off into the world.

arbuge 3y ago

But would freezing your credit in any way help with the problem identified in the article? (sale of your credit header data) Specifically: 1. Would it prevent any future occurrences? 2. Would it do anything to help with the leaks that have already occurred?

isykt 3y ago

Note that Experian runs their own protection racket called “Credit Lock” that is different from a freeze. It costs money. The freeze doesn’t cost money only because congress mandated that it be free. That’s right, these fuckwits are so irresponsible and greedy that congress actually got off their sorry asses and made a tiny piece of legislation that actually protects consumers.