Moxie Posted February 19, 2015 Share Posted February 19, 2015 Our state AG is telling people to freeze their credit in light of the Anthem data breech. Anybody ever done this? Pros and cons?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lea1 Posted February 19, 2015 Share Posted February 19, 2015 We keep our credit frozen with all three of the major credit agencies. The pro is that nobody can take out a credit card in your name or purchase a car or house or whatever in your name. Basically it keeps someone from stealing your identity. The con is that you have to unfreeze it if you move and are renting or purchasing a house or if you want a new credit card or purchase anything on credit. It has become easier to unfreeze and refreeze it over the years though. I think you can do it all online now where we used to have to send a letter to at least one of the credit agencies. It has worked well for us. We have never had any issues and it certainly helps us feel safer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 19, 2015 Share Posted February 19, 2015 We keep our credit frozen with all three of the major credit agencies. The pro is that nobody can take out a credit card in your name or purchase a car or house or whatever in your name. Basically it keeps someone from stealing your identity. The con is that you have to unfreeze it if you move and are renting or purchasing a house or if you want a new credit card or purchase anything on credit. It has become easier to unfreeze and refreeze it over the years though. I think you can do it all online now where we used to have to send a letter to at least one of the credit agencies. It has worked well for us. We have never had any issues and it certainly helps us feel safer. Do you do it for your kids as well? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wildcat Posted February 19, 2015 Share Posted February 19, 2015 We thought about it, but decided against it for a few reasons. 1. the hassle (and expense) of unfreezing/refreezing if/when we need to access our reports 2. what about random credit checks? I read a while back that isn't possible if your account is frozen (someone please correct me if I am wrong) 3. ---this is the biggie--- if I believe most reports and articles, most credit fraud is due to credit card applications and something like 7 out of 10 applications aren't checked against the credit report so some will still likely go through, so the hassle vs the potential payoff didn't seem worth it For us, we have identity theft insurance (less than $150/year---- we stayed away from the free reporting offered by hacked companies and just got our own) and check one report every four months, alternating credit agencies so each report is free. If I had it my way, we would be able to freeze/unfreeze our accounts on a whim, and without cost, at the click of a button. It seems like the system works against individuals and in favor of business. Sort of like how the phone company charges us to have our number as UNLISTED, rather than to charge us for publicly LISTING it. It's backward. Can anyone attest to the 'checking' of reports by employers while having a freeze? Can anyone verify how easy (and fast!) it is to place/remove the freezes? Despite our hesitance to place the freezes, if it is easier than in years past, I may just bite the bullet and do it. IMO, our credit files SHOULD be frozen automatically unless/until one applies for credit!! Anyone know how to start a protest/lobby? (only half joking) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wildcat Posted February 19, 2015 Share Posted February 19, 2015 Do you do it for your kids as well? I saw this after I posted. If we choose to go this route, we will do it for the kids, too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lea1 Posted February 19, 2015 Share Posted February 19, 2015 Do you do it for your kids as well? Dh takes care of it but I asked him and he said he had tried to do it for our two sons and he wasn't able to for some reason that he can't remember now (they were too young or something he said). He checks their credit reports every now and then. He was just telling me that at one of the credit agencies he had a fraud alert on his credit report. They reported it to the other two agencies so they all had a 90 day fraud alert so someone must have tried to do something with his information at some point. It is reassuring to know we are protected. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lea1 Posted February 19, 2015 Share Posted February 19, 2015 Can anyone attest to the 'checking' of reports by employers while having a freeze? Can anyone verify how easy (and fast!) it is to place/remove the freezes? If your credit has been frozen, nobody can check your credit at all. You would have to unfreeze it in order for someone to check your credit. We don't have an issue with an employer. I don't know how much it costs, as dh always takes care of it and he is not home right now. As for how easy it is, I think it is pretty easy now that it is online. Before my mom passed away, I used her information to log in as her and freeze all of her credit reports. It was very easy. I never unfroze it though but I think it is probably pretty easy these days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kubiac Posted February 19, 2015 Share Posted February 19, 2015 We have done this and it works for us, because our lifestyle is very stable/boring/conservative, so the unfreezing call is a rare and mild inconvenience. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lea1 Posted February 19, 2015 Share Posted February 19, 2015 We have done this and it works for us, because our lifestyle is very stable/boring/conservative, so the unfreezing call is a rare and mild inconvenience. Hey, that's the same kind of lifestyle we have:). It must work well for people like us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wildcat Posted February 19, 2015 Share Posted February 19, 2015 If your credit has been frozen, nobody can check your credit at all. You would have to unfreeze it in order for someone to check your credit. We don't have an issue with an employer. I don't know how much it costs, as dh always takes care of it and he is not home right now. As for how easy it is, I think it is pretty easy now that it is online. Before my mom passed away, I used her information to log in as her and freeze all of her credit reports. It was very easy. I never unfroze it though but I think it is probably pretty easy these days. Thanks. That's what I thought (about checking credit). Being able to check the reports is necessary for jobs and they don't give notice that they are going it, so I guess we can't freeze. Well, maybe the kids' we can. The last thing I read (a few years ago back when we first thought about freezing) was that you could freeze online, but to unfreeze, you had to send a letter and payment so it took something like two weeks. I was hoping it had all changed and had become easier and faster. It is a must that employers have access on a whim, so I guess we can't freeze ours unless something has changed. :glare: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wildcat Posted February 19, 2015 Share Posted February 19, 2015 Dh takes care of it but I asked him and he said he had tried to do it for our two sons and he wasn't able to for some reason that he can't remember now (they were too young or something he said). He checks their credit reports every now and then. He was just telling me that at one of the credit agencies he had a fraud alert on his credit report. They reported it to the other two agencies so they all had a 90 day fraud alert so someone must have tried to do something with his information at some point. It is reassuring to know we are protected. I think for the kids, if they don't *have* a report, there is nothing to freeze. I did read once where checking often for a report could lead to a report being started (which makes no sense!), so if that's the case, eventually, maybe you'll be able to freeze them? I'm guess I'll be able to freeze one of my kid's (has a job) but not the other (no job). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheDairyQueen Posted February 20, 2015 Share Posted February 20, 2015 We have ours frozen. We did have it unfrozen when we purchased a house, then restarted it. Definitely worth doing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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