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The day has come, huzzah!
As of Friday, the three major credit bureaus – Experian, TransUnion and everyone's favorite, Equifax – have started offering free credit freezes, perhaps the best security measures against identity theft. If you are not in the market for a new line of credit in the short term, you should seriously consider applying freezes to your accounts. I highly recommend it. (As I have been doing for years!)
Here is how the system works. Banks and lenders examine consumer credit reports, financial health records maintained by credit bureaus, when potential customers seek to open new lines of credit; for example, when they apply for a new credit card or are looking to take out a loan. The financiers use this information to judge the solvency of a person. But fraudsters can also use stolen personal information to open new lines of credit to others. When they succeed, they drain people's coffers, destroy their reputation and cause violent headaches.
Freezers are the best way for consumers to keep crooks at bay. While most major credit bureaus offer credit monitoring services and fraud alerts, the security of these supposed defenses is low compared to that of freezes. The reason: these services tell you when something has gone wrong. On the other hand, freezing prevents thefts from occurring.
The reform is long overdue. After the disastrous Equifax hack of last year, which revealed personal information to 148 million Americans, Congress changed the Fair Credit Reporting Act, forcing credit bureaus to offer free gels. Previously, these companies charged between $ 2 and $ 10 per freeze. This payment condition, as slight as it may be, has angered many lawmakers and consumers (including the author): why should consumers pay to protect themselves from the consequences of the security failures of these businesses?
They should not have to pay, and now this situation has been resolved.
Some things to keep in mind: To implement a freeze, you will need to secure your account with a PIN. Write these secrets, perhaps encoded, and keep them in a safe place. Existing relationships with the banks are not affected, so do not worry that freezes are a hindrance. But if you are considering applying for a mortgage, opening a new bank account, getting a new credit card, taking out a loan, or doing this, you will need to thaw your accounts first. Allow yourself a few days for the thaw. Then you can freeze your files once again, for free!
Follow these links to the websites of credit reporting agencies for more information on implementing the freezes: Equifax (phone number: 1-800-685-1111), Experian (1- 888-397-3742), TransUnion (1-888-909-8872). ). If you freeze your files, let me know how is your experience going? I would like to know well.
Have a good week-end.
Robert Hackett
@rhhackett
Welcome to the Cyber Saturday edition of Data Sheet, Fortune & # 39;s daily technical newsletter. Fortune Robert Hackett reporter here. You can reach Robert Hackett via Twitter, Cryptocat, Jabber (see OTR fingerprint on my about.me), encrypted PGP email (see the public key on my Keybase.io), Wickr, Signal, or however you prefer (safely). Return of information
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