What is a Credit Freeze?
Identity theft is one of the fastest growing crimes in the United States, according to CNN Money, it occurs every 2 seconds. Every year, the Federal Trade Commission ranks the top complaints made by US consumers and for the 15th year, identity theft ranked number one! Monthly credit monitoring services can become costly. A credit freeze is relatively inexpensive and can be a powerful weapon against this devastating crime.
How it works-
A consumer pays a fee to have their credit frozen, in Georgia, it costs $3.00 per agency. You need to freeze all three agencies (Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion) so it costs a total of $9.00. Once the fee is paid, the consumer is given a password that will unlock their credit with each agency. When a freeze is in place, credit reporting agencies can not release the credit report or credit score of the consumer unless the freeze is lifted, also called a thaw. Each “thaw” costs $3.00 and is available electronically within 15 minutes of the request, which is pretty convenient. If you are the victim of identity theft, there is no charge for a credit freeze. Placing credit freezes are free to senior citizens 65 or older, but they can be charged $3.00 for lifting or removing the freeze.
Most lenders and creditors rely on access to a consumer’s credit file to determine his credit worthiness. By denying such access, a credit freeze makes it very difficult for an identity thief to open an account in a victim’s name.
It should be noted that the law does give some companies access to reports despite a freeze such as insurance companies, existing creditors and law enforcement agencies.
For more information and who to contact-
Experian Security Freeze
P.O. Box 9554
Allen, TX 75013
1-888-397-3742
https://www.experian.com/freeze/center.html
Equifax Security Freeze
P.O. Box 105788
Atlanta, GA 30348
1-800-685-1111
https://www.freeze.equifax.com/Freeze/jsp/SFF_PersonalIDInfo.jsp
TransUnion LLC
P.O. Box 2000
Chester, PA 19022-2000
1-888-909-8872
http://www.transunion.com/credit-freeze/place-credit-freeze
The information found on the Gerstenberger Law site is for educational purposes only. Your situation and the situation of others is unique and more complex. This is neither legal advice nor to be considered legal advice. Contact us for advice about your specific situation
Sources
http://identity-theft-protection-services-review.toptenreviews.com/
http://consumer.ga.gov/consumer-topics/credit-freeze