Starting today you can now freeze and unfreeze your credit report nationwide for free (also referred to as a security freeze, credit report freeze or credit lock). This is thanks to the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act that was signed in May partly in response to the Equifax data breach. Under the new law consumer reporting agencies (Equifax, Experian, TransUnion) have until the next business day to enact a credit freeze and if a consumer wants to lift the freeze it must be done within an hour. These consumer reporting agencies have created dedicated web portals for freezes:
A credit freeze means that your credit report is unable to be accessed or pulled from any of the consumer reporting agencies. Almost all lenders look at an individuals credit report before approving them for a loan, by having your report frozen this can prevent unauthorized loans in your name being processed – something particularly important to victims of identity theft.Previously the fees involved for placing and lifting a security freeze varied state by state. In addition fees also varied based on whether an individual was the victim of identity theft and also the individuals age. Some states already required consumer reporting agencies to provide credit report freezes for free.
If you’d like to know more about the pros and cons of adding a freeze to your report, read this linked article.
