The application processes are stopped midway and this can trigger the red flags that can alert the authorities. Thereby a victim is being protected from further exploitation.Ī credit freeze does not just prevent thieves and those with mala fide intentions from getting what they want. If a bank, lender, financial institution or credit card company is unable to access the credit file of a person, then the thief misusing the personal details will not be able to avail the product or service. These processes that are exploited by identity and data thefts can be disrupted with a credit freeze. Personal data can be used to apply for credit cards, loans, financial services, and other products that will effectively be debts or liabilities of the victim whose identity has been stolen. Millions of people have had their data compromised, including sensitive information such as banking details, medical records, emails, and social media profiles.Ī credit freeze enables an ordinary citizen to prevent identity thieves, data thieves and anyone with access to the personal identity or data of them from using that information to get loans, credit cards, and other privileges. Tech giants have been victims of data breaches, from outright data theft to hacking and phishing leading to a denial of service attacks. Data breaches have become far too common to consider them aberrations. Not all cases get reported in the media but ordinary people have to endure the fallout. Thousands of people are victims of identity theft every month. Identity theft is more common than one may imagine. The most important reason why consumers consider a credit breeze and also why it is a federally mandated service is security. In effect, a consumer will not be able to get a new loan, credit card, line of credit, mortgage and any other financial product or service that requires a credit check. No consumer will experience an adverse effect of a credit freeze but for the fact that requests to access and assess a credit file will be turned down. There is no change to the credit score either. Nothing is removed or changed in the credit report.Įvery piece of information remains documented as it is. A credit freeze has nothing to do with the credit history, report or file. The bureaus also allow for perpetual credit freeze till instructed otherwise. Bureaus often allow credit freeze for twelve months or for a preset period of time. It is up to a consumer to decide if the credit freeze should be time-bound or for as long as necessary until further notice or instruction is issued. Here again, there is no irreversibility in the process. The enforcement of a credit freeze may also be temporary or permanent.

The permanence is not etched in stone as a consumer can choose a credit freeze again in the near or distant future. The unfreezing may be temporary or permanent. A consumer has the right to remove a credit freeze at any point in time. The consumer should initiate this process, continue to have the file frozen and then choose when it must be thawed or unfrozen. The requester will receive no information.Ī credit freeze is a voluntary process and it is not initiated by the bureaus or reporting agencies. Credit freeze or security freeze puts up a barrier so all requests made to Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion by banks, lenders, companies, and individuals to access particular credit history, report or file will be turned down. Basically, the credit file becomes a secret and is no longer accessible for anyone but the bureau and the consumer. A consumer may contact the credit bureaus and ask them to freeze the credit history or report. View The Best 10 Credit Repair Companies What is a Credit Freeze?Ī credit freeze is a voluntary process. You can always work with a legitimate credit repair company too.

The laws are applicable to all credit bureaus. A credit freeze is a service mandated by federal laws and it should be available to all citizens. All three bureaus, Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion, have credit locks as a service that is chargeable but it is a product they offer.

A credit freeze is not the same as a credit lock. You may refer to it as a security credit freeze as the option is explored only when there is a risk of personal identity theft and if financial information or private data has been compromised. A credit freeze, also known as a security freeze, is a practice of credit bureaus or reporting agencies wherein they do not share the credit history or report of a citizen with any lender, be it a bank, financial institution, private lender, credit card company, employer or others.

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