A freeze means no one can access your credit report unless you
"thaw" your report. This means no new credit cards, loans, or
mortgages, either by you, or by a potential identity thief. You will
need to freeze the report with each bureaus. Not surprisingly, after
fighting with Congress for four years against allowing for consumer
freezes, the bureaus have made it difficult, requiring the mailing of
certified letters, utility bills, different kinds of personal
information, and charging fees. Here's the step by step:
Equifax
General info
State-by-state information
To get a freeze, Equifax wants you to send a certified letter with
seven specific elements to Equifax Security Freeze/P.O. Box 105788/
Atlanta, Georgia 30348. The elements are spelled out clearly on the
general information page, but they are, basically -- name, address,
date of birth, SSN, utility bill for proof of address, payment and a
police report if you are a victim. Experian
General info and state-by state information
To get state-specific information, scroll to the bottom of the page and pick your state from the drop-down menu.
Before giving you the information you need, Experian will warn you that
a security freeze may make your credit life very difficult. Take that
with a grain of salt, and then pick your state. You'll send the request
by certified or overnight mail to Experian/ P.O. Box 9554/ Allen, TX
75013. Again, the recipe is listed on the firm's Web site, but it will
call for a name, SSN, date of birth, current and past addresses dating
back two years, a copy of your driver's license, and one utility bill.
TransUnion
General info and state-by-state information
Send your freeze requests to Trans Union/Fraud Victim Assistance
Department/ P.O. Box 6790/ Fullerton, CA 92834. A few state residents
can call instead of write -- check the link above. Trans Union wants
the following on the letter: name, address, Social Security Number, a
copy of your driver's license and payment.
Freezes
will cost usually $10 per bureau, depending on your state. Also, if you
want to take out a new line of credit, you'll have to pay to unfreeze
your report, and then again to refreeze it. Credit report freezes are
free for identity theft victims. For everyone else, it's a preventative
measure, that, considering the possible monetary and psyhic and time
cost of untangling identity theft, could be a wise investment.
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