Thoughts on credit freeze

[BMW F22]

Along the same line: my mom’s credit was hit hard due to ID theft. My brother spent a month helping her with clearing it up and such. I believe they disputed things with the credit bureaus, yet her credit score dropped from high 700s-low 800s to mid 600 range and has stayed there since. It’s been 2 years or so. Any recourse or recommendation on how to boost her score?

[NickyC]

Locked, frozen, whatever you want to call it I do it. Anytime I need a credit check run I just unfreeze my profile with the company/service I use. No issues so far after years and years of use.

[cmyx6go]

Originally Posted by DETRoadster

cmyx6go , my wife and I froze ours about 5 years ago and sleep great at night because of it. We dont have to pay for a bunch of monitoring BS. We just locked that shit down. Its not like you (or us) are in our 20s trying to open up credit cards, get a new iPhone on a payment plan, or anything else like that. I'll bet like us you only open a new line of credit every 3 to 5 years at most.

Since locking ours down we have had to "unfreeze" a couple times. Once for a HELOC, and once to get quotes for construction loans. My wife unfroze hers recently to change over to a different credit card for her business. The bureaus make it pretty easy actually. Takes us about 30 minutes of work to unfreeze both our accounts across 4 bureaus. The nice thing is that every bureau offers a "temporary" unfreeze where you can pick the start and stop dates so it will automatically re-freeze itself after the date you pick.

Looks like you went for it. You wont regret it!

Other than every three years for a new car lease, I'd only need to unfreeze if I decide to buy another house. And the way things are going with new cars, I just may buy this one when my lease is up next year.

[ASAP]

the whole credit system and the way it works in general is highly suspect... paying off bills and using more of your "available" credit should never lower your score as long as your paying your bills every month... point is... no one really knows what makes sense with credit scores... the whole idea of a freeze seems weird to me as well

[Tyga11]

There's no downside in freezing your credit and quite frankly, everyone should do it to prevent fraud. It works exactly as many others have described it.

[RickFLM4]

Originally Posted by ASAP

the whole credit system and the way it works in general is highly suspect... paying off bills and using more of your "available" credit should never lower your score as long as your paying your bills every month... point is... no one really knows what makes sense with credit scores... the whole idea of a freeze seems weird to me as well

The freeze is to prevent fraud, by making your credit report unavailable to anyone who needs to access your credit to approve a credit application. For example, if someone obtains your SSN and other personal info and applies for a credit card, the bank can’t access your credit report to process the application. What’s weird about that?

A freeze is not directly related to credit score, only indirectly in that it helps prevent fraud, which can make a mess of your credit.

[ASAP]

Originally Posted by RickFLM4

The freeze is to prevent fraud, by making your credit report unavailable to anyone who needs to access your credit to approve a credit application. For example, if someone obtains your SSN and other personal info and applies for a credit card, the bank can’t access your credit report to process the application. What’s weird about that?

A freeze is not directly related to credit score, only indirectly in that it helps prevent fraud, which can make a mess of your credit.

very dumb question - why is this not how it is by default?

unless you apply for credit on a monthly basis lol.... i question the general security of the 3 bureaus just given the hack that one of them experienced and later how they handled it... a freeze seems like a partial band aid.

This is directly from Experian-

"4. Know That a Freeze Doesn't Protect Everything
A credit freeze can help protect you from someone committing credit fraud by opening a credit account in your name without your permission. It can't, however, protect you from having your identity stolen. A credit freeze has never prevented identity theft. Its purpose is to limit use of your stolen identity to commit fraud against you.

If someone steals your credit card number, they can still use your credit account to make unauthorized purchases. Also, if someone steals your Social Security number, a credit freeze won't prevent them from filing fraudulent tax returns and health insurance claims in your name.

As a result, it's important to remain vigilant in other areas of your financial life, especially if you're certain that someone has stolen your personal information."

[UncleWede]

My understanding was that the freeze allows existing lenders to continue to check your credit, but no new ones. Lock means nobody can see.

I was in the stealership and had to unfreeze our credit to get the loan approved. Then they were frozen again. I'm not paying for a lock.

CPA just sent me an email that they got hacked. Next up is some sort of IRS PIN option, just another thing for older-er people to forget. . .

[ASAP]

Originally Posted by UncleWede

My understanding was that the freeze allows existing lenders to continue to check your credit, but no new ones. Lock means nobody can see.

I was in the stealership and had to unfreeze our credit to get the loan approved. Then they were frozen again. I'm not paying for a lock.

CPA just sent me an email that they got hacked. Next up is some sort of IRS PIN option, just another thing for older-er people to forget. . .

right... but the point I am trying to make is... it sounds like this only to prevent new credit being opened in your name... is this really that big of a concern to everyone? the moment that happens... you immediately get a notification from 3 different agencies... sounds like this is more of a hassle than anything... you can immediately report an opened account as fraud

[UncleWede]

Originally Posted by ASAP

right... but the point I am trying to make is... it sounds like this only to prevent new credit being opened in your name... is this really that big of a concern to everyone? the moment that happens... you immediately get a notification from 3 different agencies... sounds like this is more of a hassle than anything... you can immediately report an opened account as fraud

When a family member attempted to open credit cards with stores like Target and Walmart, we didn't get notified. We eventually got a bill, but no notification from the credit agencies. Same for cell service from various providers.

Every now and then we still get a letter from someone trying to recover their costs. Family member lived with us for many years. Also get magazines showing up every now and then, in her name.

[RickFLM4]

Originally Posted by ASAP

very dumb question - why is this not how it is by default?

unless you apply for credit on a monthly basis lol.... i question the general security of the 3 bureaus just given the hack that one of them experienced and later how they handled it... a freeze seems like a partial band aid.

This is directly from Experian-

"4. Know That a Freeze Doesn't Protect Everything
A credit freeze can help protect you from someone committing credit fraud by opening a credit account in your name without your permission. It can't, however, protect you from having your identity stolen. A credit freeze has never prevented identity theft. Its purpose is to limit use of your stolen identity to commit fraud against you.

If someone steals your credit card number, they can still use your credit account to make unauthorized purchases. Also, if someone steals your Social Security number, a credit freeze won't prevent them from filing fraudulent tax returns and health insurance claims in your name.

As a result, it's important to remain vigilant in other areas of your financial life, especially if you're certain that someone has stolen your personal information."

It should be the default and you should be able to opt in to leave it open but that's not how it works. Maybe because it is a relatively new thing, or maybe because there is an incentive to keep it open to make it easier for banks to push more credit.

I don't think anyone is suggesting freezing your credit means you can be careless about everything else. It is just a step to take, like protecting your credit card numbers, bank account numbers and SSN.

Originally Posted by ASAP

right... but the point I am trying to make is... it sounds like this only to prevent new credit being opened in your name... is this really that big of a concern to everyone? the moment that happens... you immediately get a notification from 3 different agencies... sounds like this is more of a hassle than anything... you can immediately report an opened account as fraud

Yes it should be a concern. You can either freeze credit to prevent this from happening altogether or register with the agencies to be alerted when it happens, hope it is reported as timely as it should be and then report it as fraud. Seems a lot easier to unfreeze your credit when you need it than leave it exposed and report fraud whenever it happens unless you are seeking credit all the time.

[ASAP]

Originally Posted by RickFLM4

It should be the default and you should be able to opt in to leave it open but that's not how it works. Maybe because it is a relatively new thing, or maybe because there is an incentive to keep it open to make it easier for banks to push more credit.

I don't think anyone is suggesting freezing your credit means you can be careless about everything else. It is just a step to take, like protecting your credit card numbers, bank account numbers and SSN.



Yes it should be a concern. You can either freeze credit to prevent this from happening altogether or register with the agencies to be alerted when it happens, hope it is reported as timely as it should be and then report it as fraud. Seems a lot easier to unfreeze your credit when you need it than leave it exposed and report fraud whenever it happens unless you are seeking credit all the time.

Right but if you read the comments directly from Experian above it seems VERY limited in scope... fraud can still be committed, your identity can still be stolen and your CARDS can still be used.

The ONLY thing this prevents is potentially new accounts being opened in your name... to me, that's the rarest form of fraud... i'll say, i've never had that happen (knock on wood)... and everytime, there was a hard credit inquiry on my end (obviously initiated by me), i immediately got a notification by every agency... like within five minutes... all you have to is sign up for notifications... even credit cards provide this for free now.

[RickFLM4]

Originally Posted by ASAP

Right but if you read the comments directly from Experian above it seems VERY limited in scope... fraud can still be committed, your identity can still be stolen and your CARDS can still be used.

The ONLY thing this prevents is potentially new accounts being opened in your name... to me, that's the rarest form of fraud... i'll say, i've never had that happen (knock on wood)... and everytime, there was a hard credit inquiry on my end (obviously initiated by me), i immediately got a notification by every agency... like within five minutes... all you have to is sign up for notifications... even credit cards provide this for free now.

OK good for you if you have never had this pretty common issue (definitely not rare, which is why this is even offered). I'll keep mine frozen since I get at least a couple of letters a year from banks who were unable to open an account that I never tried to open. I don't particularly care to deal with cancelling accounts or spending time to remove cancelled accounts from my credit report if they are not properly removed. I rarely apply for credit so not an issue for me whatsoever.

[cmyx6go]

OK, so I'm a bit freaked right now. I got a shitload of alerts this morning that my social security number was found on the dark web. I do have a freeze on my credit. Is there something else I should do?

[nerdogray]

Probably due to the NPD breach. My information is all out there, minus the last two addresses and current phone number. Pretty comprehensive. Nowadays, if you have a SSN, it's been compromised. Just keep the freezes at all bureaus (including the lesser known one Innovis), and I feel like you'll be fine. Nothing else can really be done.

I do also use a data removal service that automatically scans information aggregation sites and does removal requests on a monthly basis, though. It's part of Experian's service line-up.. $3 a month. There are dedicated services that do it, but Experian's is good enough for me. Kind of unrelated to this, though.. and more privacy related than security.

[cmyx6go]

Originally Posted by nerdogray

Probably due to the NPD breach. My information is all out there, minus the last two addresses and current phone number. Pretty comprehensive. Nowadays, if you have a SSN, it's been compromised. Just keep the freezes at all bureaus (including the lesser known one Innovis), and I feel like you'll be fine. Nothing else can really be done.

I do also use a data removal service that automatically scans information aggregation sites and does removal requests on a monthly basis, though. It's part of Experian's service line-up.. $3 a month. There are dedicated services that do it, but Experian's is good enough for me. Kind of unrelated to this, though.. and more privacy related than security.

Yes, it was from the breach. WTF? And thanks, I'll take a look at the data removal service.

[nerdogray]

I was pretty surprised (and alarmed) to see how comprehensive the data set from the breach. I knew some information was out there, but this was a lot... and current up to the last two years or so. Just glad I changed my phone number.

[cmyx6go]

Originally Posted by nerdogray

I was pretty surprised (and alarmed) to see how comprehensive the data set from the breach. I knew some information was out there, but this was a lot... and current up to the last two years or so. Just glad I changed my phone number.

It showed my addresses and phone numbers going back 25 years, including my business address. It didn't show my current address or phone number. Been there 4 years.

[JeffL0]

Originally Posted by cmyx6go

OK, so I'm a bit freaked right now. I got a shitload of alerts this morning that my social security number was found on the dark web. I do have a freeze on my credit. Is there something else I should do?

Virtually ALL of us have been breached at least a few times, but we tend to forget about the news stories. Remember the Experian breach? How about Home Depot? Target? Blue Cross Blue Shield? The list is never-ending. Anyone ever been in any US Military service or had a clearance? Then you were breached with the OPM incident too.

At last count, I know of at least a dozen instances where my PII was leaked, and yep, I also got a notification about my stuff out there from the NPM breach.

Even after signing myself and DW up for Lifelock, I still had a credit card successfully opened in my name (wtf). Lifelock did take care of everything, but that's akin to spilled milk. Freezing your credit at all three major bureaus effectively glues that glass of milk to the table. Since freezing both of ours about 10 years ago, I've had zero incidents, despite my PII being tossed around the web countless times. Only had to lift it a couple times over the years, and resulting from the Experian breach, the USG required the bureaus to provide freeze/lifts free of charge. I remember back when it used to cost $10-$15 per freeze/lift, per bureau.

Freezing is something everyone should do, if yours isn't, go do it right now.

[zx10guy]

The hoops we have to jump through for the negligence of people holding our data both warranted and unwarranted is just asinine. The fix for all of this is four letters....GDPR. While the Europeans have many stupid regulations, they got the GDPR law right. Every agency that wants to use our PII data has to ask the person for permission to have access. It's not the stupidity that happens here where we have to opt out of everything.

Also until there are real penalties such as significant fines where the organization (or individual) is responsible for actual damages and also jail time, this crap is going to keep happening.

The Experian and OPM breaches were brought up in the above post. Those two breaches were 100% preventable. Both were due to gross negligence by a person in charge of IT systems that ignored needed patches to their systems for months. What's egregious is those individuals had absolutely nothing happen to them. In the case of the OPM breach, a contractor took the fall instead of the dirtbag govie that didn't do their job.

[M_Six]

Experian is less than trustworthy itself. Sort of ironic that a company you go to for a solution is actually part of the problem.

https://krebsonsecurity.com/2023/11/...u-at-experian/

[vreihen16]

Originally Posted by cmyx6go

Yes, it was from the breach. WTF?

The latest breach was of a company that did background searches for employers, and somehow they had a private copy of every single SS# ever issued that was stolen.

The news is full of "how to know if your info was stolen" clickbait articles. Rather than read the article, assume that it has been stolen if any digit in your SS# is in the range of 0-9.....