Dear Liz: A few months ago you mentioned creating credit freezes that can be simply turned on and off at the customer’s convenience at no cost. However, you didn’t leave a website or an avenue to pursue a credit freeze with all three credit bureaus. Please provide more information on the steps in this process to achieve a credit freeze. It sounds like something I would like to try.
Answer: A credit freeze restricts access to your credit report and can be a good way to deter new account fraud. If someone tries to open a new account in your name, the lender won’t be able to pull your credit and thus is unlikely to approve the application.
Credit freezes do not affect your ability to use your credit cards or other credit accounts. You can temporarily thaw or lift the freeze any time you want to apply for credit. Placing, lifting and removing credit freezes is now free.
Experian’s credit freeze center can be found at https://www.experian.com/freeze/center.html.
Equifax’s is at https://www.equifax.com/personal/credit-report-services/credit-freeze/.
You’ll find TransUnion’s version at https://www.transunion.com/credit-freeze.
Just be sure to follow the instructions carefully and keep track of any personal identification numbers or passwords.