What You Need to Know About Credit Freeze
Back in January 2024, I got scammed.
How It All Happened
My website had been down for about 24 hours, and I didn’t have a web developer and was trying to do it all on my own. After a day of beating my head against this particular wall, I reached out to a therapist friend who recommended her web developer. He and I had a Zoom appointment scheduled, I was ready with my list of emergencies when… my internet shut down.
Ten minutes before this important call with the developer, and I was dead in the water. So, I googled on my phone for the customer service number for my internet service provider, hit dial, and spoke to the less-than helpful customer service agent. Turned out my card on file was expired. Ok, we got the card updated. The agent said all I needed to do was turn the router off, wait for five minutes and restart.
I did all that and still no internet. And then, and ONLY then, as I was about to redial the number for customer service, I realized that it isn’t a toll-free number, it’s just like some weird number. When I googled the number, it was for a pretty obviously fake version of my ISP.
Oh no.
I had not, in fact, been talking to my internet service provider. I had given my debit card information to… who exactly?
The Card Freeze
A quick call to my bank killed that debit card, and although I was a little shame-faced, I knew there wasn’t too much else the scammers could do, because my credit was frozen.
Let’s talk about why freezing your credit at such a time is probably the best way you can spend the next 45 minutes.
Reason #1 To Freeze Your Credit: It’s Free
Maybe you’ve gotten a solicitation from a company that will protect or lock your credit for a modest fee. These can be advertised as fraud protecting, but also as a way to protect yourself from future attacks. Seems pretty attractive, right? And maybe their services work great, but they could be a fraud themselves.
You should never have to pay to freeze your credit! (Or unfreeze it.)
Reason #2 to Freeze Your Credit: It’s Easy to Undo
You can unfreeze your credit in about the same time as it took to freeze it. I recently bought a car. Before they ran my credit, I thawed my credit, and for two of the bureaus I was given the opportunity for it to refreeze in a set amount of time. You’ll need to unfreeze your credit if you’re thinking about taking on debts or loans, buy or rent, or open certain types of accounts.
Reason #3 to Freeze Your Credit: It Protects You.
Freezing your credit means that creditors cannot access your credit report. If they can’t see your credit report, they can’t approve you (or someone pretending to be you) for credit. When your credit is frozen, no one can open an account using your credit information.
You can even freeze your minor children’s credit (but it takes a few extra steps to confirm that you are who you say you are)!
What You Should Know Before You Freeze Your Credit
There isn’t a free, easy way to freeze or unfreeze your credit with all three credit bureaus at once, so you’ll need to do them one at a time.
Each bureau should take about 15 minutes.
Here are the links you’ll need for each credit bureau:
After you’re done freezing your credit, I’d like you to do one extra thing. Share this information with someone you care about. Most of my financial coaching clients don’t even know this free service exists, so maybe someone you care about doesn’t know either! 45 minutes could protect them from a lifetime of unnecessary hardship!
Let’s Have a Conversation:
Are you aware of the credit freeze option? Have you had to use it? Under what circumstances? Did the credit freeze help you?
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I’m confused about exactly what freezing credit means. Does it allow you to use your debit and credit cards or not?
Hi Diane! A credit freeze just means no new credit can be opened in your name. All exsiting credit cards/accounts won’t be affected. Your debit card wouldn’t be affected either as it’s not a credit account. Good question!
How does a credit freeze affect automatic bill payments?
Hi Bonnie! This is an excellent question and something I should include in the next revision of this article. The credit freeze will not affect automatic bill payments, so no worries!
Just a bit more info: the credit freezes stop anyone from using your credit but don’t stop soft pulls of your credit. So a freeze won’t stop you from getting solicitations for credit but will stop someone who steals that credit solicitation from actually opening up that credit.
After the VA had a security breach years ago we froze our credit. It’s easy to unfreeze the few times we needed to do it. It’s very easy to set up yourself so you don’t need to pay extra to one of those companies like Lifelock. If I’m shopping and a store asks if I want to open a credit card it makes it easy to say no thanks my credit is frozen!
Oh I love that, Cary! I wish more people knew how easy it was to freeze credit (and unfreeze)!
I knew about credit freezing but had forgotten. What happened in this article could have happened to anyone. I try to be so careful but we must all remain diligent and assist each other with reminders about the many scams that exist and what to do if we are caught up in one. One thing never to do is be embarrassed because it could happen to anyone.
I couldn’t agree more! The spectre of embarassment means we’re not likely to talk to each other, share our learnings and support each other!
State I lived in previously had the state tax records hacked so I put a freeze on all my accounts. Best protection ever and stopped all the unwanted credit offers. When I was ready to apply for a mortgage I unfroze the ones they needed for a specified time and even received notifications when the credit information was accessed and by who. I also set up notifications on my credit cards when any transaction is made I receive a text – this prevented fraudulent charges as I was able to contact card company immediately. And the best part is all of this is free.
Heck yes! And it’s easy to reverse when/if you need to use your credit!