Freeze on credit report.

We hear about credit monitoring services like Lifelock which can monitor your credit transaction as a way to help prevent illegal use of your credit information such as to open up false accounts in your name.  This service comes at a monthly service fee which I firmly believe when it comes to personal protection of any sort like your home, business or personal information cost should never be a factor but in my opinion you should look into other services less costly to protect your personal information.  Freeze.

So what is a credit freeze? This is a process in which you can freeze your credit or seal your credit. This would prevent anyone else from using your information to open up false accounts with your personal information. In this day and age of social media and the internet it is very easy for anyone to get personal information on anyone. This information can be used to open up any number of accounts in your name. So you have the ability to freeze your personal accounts by contacting all of the three credit bureaus which are Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. When you freeze your accounts you are provided with a (PIN) personal identification number. This PIN allows you to thaw your account so you can open new accounts or make large purchases.  When you freeze your accounts this has no impact on any if your existing accounts so you can use all your existing credit cards without any problems. You have to contact all three credit bureau’s to complete the process. 

However if you are in the middle of a large purchase such as a home or car then I would hold off since you have to contact all three credit bureaus prior to any purchase which can be slightly time consuming. If you are a senior or a legal guardian of a child I would recommend having a credit freeze since seniors tend to be well set with the existing credit and children tend to be very free with  their personal information on social media which could result in identity theft.

I hope this information is helpful as always please leave a comment

Mark Carvajal