Credit Freeze - Who's Done This

2 years ago

We received a letter from AT&T today notifying me that my personal information was included in a data breech of their dataset that was released "on the dark web on March 17, 2024". Last week, I received an alert from one of my credit cards that my personal info - Name, SSN, dob, address, phone numbers, e-mail, etc. had shown up on the dark web. I remember looking at the info published and thinking that that was a pretty comprehensive list of my information!

I'm thinking it would probably be in my best interest to place a credit freeze on my credit file at the three reporting agencies, Equifax, Experian and TransUnion.

I understand that I would have to take steps to unfreeze my credit should I wish to obtain credit, but I can't think of anything that I will be purchasing that will need financing. Are there other inconveniences that I need to be aware of?

TIA

Featured Answer

jakkom

2 years ago

last modified: 2 years ago

We've had a credit freeze on for years. I have to say that the credit bureaus' responses to "unlock" have not been consistent. Most times a company cannot tell you which of the 3 major agencies (there's actually 4, but one is a lot smaller and not often used) they will contact, as it's a random choice.

So if you need to unfreeze your credit, you have to do it 3x, not just once. You also need to tell them how long you want to lift the block for, which isn't as straightforward as you might think. One time we unlocked our credit for a week, but the company didn't contact a credit bureau for almost 2 weeks - so we had to go through it all over again.

Now that they've mostly switched to a Pin # and moved the process on-line, it is easier than before, however. These days, with hacking happening (literally) every micro-second, I still think it's worth freezing our credit records. Thankfully, it isn't often we have to unlock our records!

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Comments (19)

Toronto Veterinarian
2 years ago
The truth is that it's very unlikely that anyone would use your personal info for nefarious purposes - possible, but very unlikely. I would not do anything as drastic as a credit freeze, but I would be more observant of what's happening under my name by checking the credit bureau reports more often.
jrb451 thanked Toronto Veterinarian
User
2 years ago
last modified: 2 years ago
We did it. I still have a credit rating based on what I've charged on credit cards verses my credit limit "and" if I've been late to pay or refused to pay. So far....nothing to report....bad or good. Just living my life. When you call the 3 credit agencies, they give you a series of numbers to unlock your credit...but if you lose the numbers, they just ask you a series of questions to unlock your credit. When you apply for a new bank account, even tho your giving THEM money to deposit, they require a credit check. So...........when I open a CD...I often unlock one of the agencies....they only use one....then call to lock it up again.
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Judi
2 years ago
We keep ours frozen. Had to unfreeze it when my husband bought a car, but then refroze.
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jrb451
Original Author
2 years ago
"The truth is that it's very unlikely that anyone would use your personal info for nefarious purposes - possible, but very unlikely"

So, @Toronto Veterinarian, why steal the data?
arcy_gw
2 years ago
I would be more concerned about identity theft.
Toronto Veterinarian
2 years ago
" So, @Toronto Veterinarian, why steal the data? "

They steal lots and lots and lots of data, and then try to randomly use a very small amount of it. The likelihood that your data, among the data of millions of people, will used, let alone used successfully, is very, very small.

Yup, it's possible, which is why you want to keep an eye on someone using it for (as you said) identity theft and opening up new accounts - but freezing everything seems - to me - overkill.
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aok27502
2 years ago
We've had ours frozen for years. The only time I can remember that we had to unfreeze (thaw?) it was when we moved and had to connect utilities. I did it online, and they leave it open for something like 48 hours, then it automatically freezes again. You can also do it over the phone.

No issues for us.
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User
2 years ago
Q: Why steal someones identity if their credit is frozen?

A: a freeze doesn't prevent fraudulent use of your existing bank accounts and credit cards.

I keep a spending limit on my credit cards. If I want to charge a large amount, I have to call ahead of time and put a note on my account that I'm making a one time purchase of such-n-such amount, otherwise it's automatically declined. I keep my bank accounts emptied out also. CD's or stocks....they can't easily break into those. If I need a large amount I charge it, pay it off at the end of the month.
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carolb_w_fl_coastal_9/10
2 years ago
I have my CC accounts set up to notify me of my balances by daily email, which are at zero, so anything over that would alert me to a problem. My bank account is set up to email me notifications of all transactions, even accessing the account online.

Can't personal info be used to open accounts online? People do that to get credit cards, loans, life insurance, etc., I understand.

It's a good idea, if email is among the breached items, to change passwords for that.
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Fun2BHere
2 years ago
I did it years ago after a cell phone account was opened in my name. As Nicole stated it’s not that difficult, but I would recommend keeping the codes they give you in more than one place so you have them if you need to unfreeze your credit.
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foodonastump
2 years ago
I froze ours a couple years back and lost the codes the same day. We recently opened a new credit card and now that I think about it, the freezes didn’t prevent that so I’m not sure exactly what they do accomplish. Whatever, I’ll worry about it if and when it becomes an issue.
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JoanM
2 years ago
I have been involved in three breeches, including the experian breech because I randomly financed a car during that scam time period. I have a freeze on all three and high transaction alerts on all accounts. It is very easy to unlock and manage. I also now use duel factor authentication everywhere that it is offered. I always make sure to thank any bank professional who truely makes me prove my identity.

I never thought I would see the day that I would appreciate all the duel factor authentication nonsense. These days I try to appreciate the security teams. Must be tough to keep up with.

Yes, freeze your credit files. Do a permanent freeze, not a short term.
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outpaientzero
2 years ago
Why would ATT have your SSN and DOb? I have ATT and I've never given them any of that info including my address. But I have a prepayment plan, in fact I've had one since the nineties. So if I get a contract plan they get my SSN and other data? It Will never happen.

Put a low daily limit on all accounts with notification of activity and 2 factor verification. Take all your long term money and move it to another bank and lock it! No ATM or card card attached, no online account, all access by phone is denied, must be physically present at bank, must have photo ID, and must provide correct password to even do anything at the bank.

Yeah, I may be paranoid but I don't have another life time to save what someone wants to steal, so I want to reduce the risk to nearly zero and sleep better. I Caught a $5000 fraudulent charge on my credit card and was able to shut down the card in 20 minutes. The fraud department said it was an online purchase where you need the Security code to do this and asked me if I gave the info to anyone, no. So how on earth did they get it? now I won't shop anyplace without a tap. No tap no business. No store credit cards, no anything so keep your 5% target and I'll shop at Walmart.
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Mrs. S
2 years ago
I'm not sure what you all are talking about in terms of codes to unfreeze your credit. Maybe that's how it used to be?

You just go to each credit bureau, create a login/password and then you find the freeze button and toggle it to frozen, or toggle it to unfrozen. You just slide it one way or the other.

Don't be fooled by the way some of the verbiage might lead you to think you have to pay. You don't. It's free, and easy.
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salonva
2 years ago
We did put a freeze on our credit a while ago and as far as I can remember, there were one or two times when we had to unfreeze (maybe a new credit card or when we moved for uility set up) and then refroze. Nothing is 100% so we do also have email alerts (yes it can get tedious!!!) for all credit card transactions. I say why not and just realize that there might be a slight inconvenience if you have not anticipated all the effects but it's all manageable and worth it.
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JoanM
2 years ago
The credit agencies have improved the process over the last few years. One of them made you retain a numeric code for access for many years and another one wanted you to fax them utilty bills etc, just to get it turned on. They have greatly simplified the process. The last time I applied for a mortgage the bank told me which agency I had to unlock right when we started the paperwork. They told me how long to leave it unfrozen for their needs.
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foodonastump
2 years ago
My experience with the codes wasn’t all that long ago, pretty sure it was during covid but I don’t remember the circumstances. I get data breach letters not infrequently, but something must have caught my attention.
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jrb451
Original Author
2 years ago
Thanks for all the comments. I froze my credit this morning at all three agencies. Piece of cake. No code to remember but this is probably because I did this on-line and created an account with each. I can deal with my credit being frozen, I just was curious if there were any unintended consequences, and it appears there isn't.

It chaps me a bit that one of the three, Experian, had notified me a few years back that my information with them had been compromised in a data breech. AT&T offered a free year of credit monitoring and identity theft detection. My data stolen from them will be with me until I die. Sounds like an anemic mea culpa to me.

Credit Freeze - Who's Done This

jakkom

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