I tried to do it a couple of days ago. We had been intending to for a long time, but just never did.

I was able to do mine with Experian. Equifax and Transunion both said "we are having technical difficulties. Try again later."

Warm fuzzies right there, I tell you!

Oh, and I tried to get my credit report from annualcreditreport.com (or whatever the URL is.) They ask you a bunch of questions like "in 1998 you engaged a mortgage with which of the following companies?" I guess I got one wrong, because it told me my credit report is not available online and I have to call the phone number. More warm fuzzies.

I am reluctant to carry out financial affairs online.

If they can hack Equifax ... what hope do I have of being able to avoid it?

Not enthused about finding my bank/investment account drained.

And many charities, and more recently, churches, want me to let them enter my bank account for a monthly contribution.

I'm getting old and forgetful.

Suppose I neglect to have enough money in the account to cover, say, three or so, such agencies. They'll have to contact me to request that I cover my delinquency, which will involve substantial effort.

And my bank said three years ago that each such shortfall would result in a $42.50 charge ... two years ago it was $45.00, and last year $47.50. (Guess the probable level for this year?).

For three agencies, that'd be close to $150.00 ... which is in the neighbourhood of what several of them get each year. The math is fairly easy for 10 - that'd be $475.00 ... and only a couple of the couple of dozen or so get that much each year!

If they can hack the Pentagon ... they can sure as he!! hack my account(s)!

ole joyful

We froze at least ten years ago. It was free. I've lifted the freeze very few times, for specific companies to inquire, and there has never been a charge to do so. I just made a phone call.

Now...if someone has my information, they also have the PIN necessary to unfreeze my information, right?

ACK! All this for 'credit', when we don't USE credit for anything.

Chisue did u freeze online or by phone? I wasn't aware of a pin.

I heard that if you belong to Credit Karma, you should be ok. You can check on all your credit cards, mortgage, loans, etc through them. And I don't think you should be charged to lock them if you wish.

Yes, I froze them too. I had to because I was a victim of ID theft. It was done free due to the theft incident. Plus, I haven't had a need to open any credit line or have it check for years, and don't expect much in the future neither.

It's really up to you. If you tend to open or check credit lines often, maybe, you should look into "locking" instead of freezing your accounts.

I was successful this afternoon in freezing all of ours. But no warm fuzzies, Equifax asked none of the "super secret" questions. Just the usual personal identifiers. I was able to get my TransUnion credit report, but not DH's, they said they couldn't do it with the info provided. Huh?

One of them originally told me that they couldn't do it online, I'd have to do it by mail. They wanted all sorts of printed copies of SS cards, other stuff that I don't even remember. Uh, no. I won't send that through the mail. I don't trust the hackers OR the mailroom clerk!

I froze all three online at least ten years ago. They give you a confirmation code when you do it, that you should keep.

I am in the process of freezing. Got one done online easily; the other wanted me to mail it in. Ridiculous. Can I say, it strikes me as beyond crazy that a company can make an enormous money-making business out of collecting mine and other people's information (without asking) and then when they screw that up, now that just adds to the due diligence I have to do, forever? There's something wrong with that. And if I understand some of the news reports correctly, EquiFax is not answering the question of was the hacked information encrypted? The silence makes me think not. Why don't they just give it away. Ugh!

I think I will wait until the worst of the hub-bub has died down, then contact one of the reporting agencies -- and change our PIN.

I would *prefer* to send information through the US Mail. I have yet to have any problem with that, whereas we are constantly reading about internet hacking.

I've done nothing to this point, I'm not convinced doing anything is necessary.

A knowledgeable friend suggested Credit Karma, as did ritamay above, suggesting that even that may not be necessary but that doing so was easy and harmless.

This [below link] from the NY Times this morning ought to make us all scratch our heads at the level of intelligence of these Equifax people. Frankly...I don't think there's anything any of us can do to protect ourselves 100% but pray that we don't become one of the chosen few whose info is used for nefarious purposes. Being personally vigilant about checking our monthly statements and account balances is probably more than will actually occur on a repeated day-to-day basis with any of the big three. The absolute safety guarantee of freezing accounts has even been questioned in this past week.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/20/business/equifax-fake-website.html?emc=edit_nn_20170921&nl=morning-briefing&nlid=80864962&te=1

Oh my word, some equifax dude ( or chick) is gonna get canned on that one, ha

And how about this to round out your day. Sigh. IMO...the info system is broken...exposing all citizens to risks far beyond what they ever envisioned when they innocently [for example] opened up an account with Sears to buy a new washer/dryer. Can we go back to a cash only way of life? As appealing as that may sound right about now...I doubt it's even a realistic possibility. We've all been too trusting of a system that, obviously, hasn't been well supervised and/or managed. It's time to get back to the nitty-gritty of scrupulously [and religiously] overseeing the management of our own affairs to the extent that we can. We need to take back ownership.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/20/business/sec-hacking-attack.html?hpw&rref=business&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=well-region&region=bottom-well&WT.nav=bottom-well

It's bad enough he/she did it, Bossy. But can you imagine waking to see that story plastered across the morning briefing edition of the NY Times. A strong cup of coffee isn't going to improve that guy/gals day. Hiding under his/her desk won't even solve that problem. A immediate long trip to parts unknown might help...if he/she can escape fast enough. Oh woe!

The Luddites seem to be out today.

There have been phonies, cons and pranksters in society since forever. The internet just gives them a bigger box to stand on and a bigger megaphone with which to reach more people. Things will settle down, little or nothing has happened to anyone.

The SEC incident - do you even know what the Edgar system is? It's a filing and information system used by public registrants. I used to work with it peripherally with my clients. The information it contains is almost entirely in the public domain immediately. On a scale of 1 to 10 (severe), this is maybe a 1 or even less. But those who want to misunderstand and exclaim "Oh my" are welcome to do so.

"The Luddites seem to be out today".

You say that as if it's a bad thing.

Is it a good thing?

How some people react (not necessarily referring to just here) to a lot of stuff of the modern era is sometimes reminiscent of the Emily Litella character on Sat Night Live. Outrage expressed over something that turns out to have been misunderstood or even not understood at all. Unhelpful and unnecessary in any event.

The consequences of the massive data breach are unknown. Are panic and overreaction warranted? Should accounts with online access (essentially all) be closed with us all instead keeping money in boxes in the ground?

It's possible that real problems will result and maybe not. Isn't it too soon to know or emote about it?

I'm not sure I'm a Luddite or not. I just came here to ask my peers if they freeze data as a precautionary strategy. In the past I've received correspondence addressed to other individual(s) or business but MY address. I looked them up online and got nowhere. Was that enough research? Did somebody make a typing error or did John Doe or XYZ company really started a financial life using some or all my data. How much research do I do? The more I write the more I don't see a relationship to being a Luddite.

Your comments were questions and reasonable ones at that. I wasn't referring to what you'd said.