Scam Prevention Tip: Place a Freeze on Your Credit Report

Did you know? This simple step can help to protect your identity - for free!

Each of us has a credit report (or credit "file") which compiles our credit history - bank loans, credit cards mortgages, etc. - into one place.  This credit report is used by banks and lenders to determine our worthiness as borrowers. Before buying a house or a car, for example, the bank will examine your credit report.

A credit freeze safeguards a person’s credit report and it is the most effective way to protect consumers from identity theft. Without access to this sensitive information, an identity thief is unable to obtain credit in that person’s name, thereby greatly minimizing the potential damage from the theft.

Every report contains our credit history and status of any loans. Depending on activity, a person's credit report contains a lot of useful information for a would-be lender.  However, gaining access to your credit report is also a goal of scammers and identity thieves.

Once the freeze is in place, the consumer receives a special Personal Identification Number or PIN and has control over who can receive their credit report. There is no cost to freeze or unfreeze your credit report.

How to turn on the Credit Freeze:
Contact each of the three major credit bureaus indicating your wish to have a freeze placed on your credit report. You can do this online or by mail or by phone with all three credit bureaus:  Experian and  Transunion, and  Equifax. Each credit bureau will provide you with your unique PIN number for any future credit freeze transactions.

Contact info for the three credit bureaus:

Equifax: 1-800-349-9960; www.equifax.com; Equifax Security Freeze, P.O. Box 105069, Atlanta, Georgia 30348

Experian: 1-888-397-3742; www.experian.com; P.O. Box 4500, Allen, TX 75013

TransUnion: 1-888-909-8872; www.transunion.com; P.O. Box 2000, Chester, PA 19016

Resources
Contact local law enforcement or the AARP Fraud Watch Network at www.aarp.org/fraudwatchnetwork or 1-877-908-3360 to report a scam or for more information on scam and fraud prevention.

AARP Six Easy Steps to Freeze Your Credit