You may have heard recently of a lawsuit claiming that hackers have gained access to billions of people’s personal data. The breach allegedly occurred around April 2024 with a hacker group called USDoD stealing unencrypted personal information from National Public Data, a background check company. A hacker leaked a version of the stolen data on a hacking forum for free, despite initially trying to sell the stolen data. It was said to include 2.7 billion records, listing full names, addresses, DOB, SSN, and phone numbers.
Data breaches like these are very dangerous, as it can lead to the infiltration of financial accounts and stolen identities that may be used to take out loans, file false tax returns, and otherwise ruin a victim’s credit. We’ve created this Blog Post that explains in more detail how to take protective measures for yourself; including how to freeze your credit and what to know about credit freezes.
A credit freeze can help protect you from some instances of credit and identify fraud. A freeze restricts creditors from accessing your credit report, which makes it difficult for them to approve accounts in your name, whether fraudulent or legitimate (USA.Gov). Federal law requires that this service is free and available to all consumers to reduce exposure to fraud.
However, there are a few things that you should understand before considering this option. Credit freezes are temporary, meaning that you can turn them on and off as you wish. However, you must remember to log in to do this, with each bureau, which can be a hassle. Permanently or temporarily unfreezing your credit prior to applying for a credit card or loan is essential, otherwise an application may be rejected or delayed.
Along with monitoring your credit, if you have children, it’s important to monitor theirs as well. You can request credit bureaus to freeze a child’s credit report. For more information, read this article from the Federal Trade Commission.
How to freeze your credit
Here’s what you’ll need to gather before contacting a credit bureau to place your credit freeze:
- Name
- Address
- Date of birth
- Social Security number
- Government-issued identification
To place a credit freeze, you must contact each credit reporting agency directly.
Equifax credit freeze
Here’s how to execute an Equifax freeze:
- Online: Visit the Equifax website and navigate to the Security Freeze section.
- Phone: Call Equifax’s customer service line at 1-888-378-4329 (1-888-EQUIFAX) to request a credit freeze.
- Mail: Download and complete Equifax’s credit lock request form from their website and mail it to P.O. Box 740256, Atlanta, GA, 30374-0256.
Experian credit freeze
Here’s how to execute an Experian freeze:
- Online: Visit the Experian website and navigate to the Credit Lock section.
- Phone: Call Experian’s customer service line at 1-888-397-3742 (1-888-EXPERIAN) to request a credit lock.
- Mail: Download and complete Experian’s credit lock request form from their website and mail it to P.O. Box 4500, Allen, TX, 75013.
TransUnion credit freeze
Here’s how to execute a TransUnion freeze:
- Online: Visit the TransUnion website and navigate to the Credit Lock section.
- Phone: Call TransUnion’s customer service line at 1-800-916-8800 to request a credit lock.
- Mail: Download and complete TransUnion’s credit lock request form from their website and mail it to P.O. Box 2000, Chester, PA, 19016-2000.
Credit freezes do not eliminate the risk of fraud, but they do make it harder for bad actors to use your personal information. If you believe that you are a victim of identity theft, you may want to also consider a fraud alert. Similar to a freeze, this is something you would need to set up with each credit bureau.