| Due to policy changes at the national credit | | | | Locked Your Credit Report Access? Make Sure to |
| repositories (Equifax, Experian, and Trans Union); | | | | Leave Time for Credit Checks. |
| American consumers are able to place a security | | | | Other consumers have complained they never |
| freeze on their credit file. Before this policy change, | | | | received their PINs or having to make repeated |
| only consumers in the 39 states where credit freeze | | | | requests for a PIN. |
| laws had been passed could freeze their credit. | | | | Credit freezes prevent a credit report from being |
| Probably sensing pending Federal legislation, the slow | | | | accessed only for the purpose of approving a new |
| big 3 decided (individually, of course - wink wink) that | | | | credit application. A freeze will not stop a creditor with |
| the self-governing thing to do would be to proactively | | | | which the consumer already has an existing |
| offer credit freezes to everyone not currently | | | | relationship from pulling follow up credit reports. Nor will |
| covered by a state law. So end of story, be safe and | | | | a security freeze prevent account takeover, a large |
| ask for a security freeze right? | | | | piece of the credit identity theft picture. But what about |
| There is as they say, "another side of the story". A | | | | the records that appear in commonly used non-credit |
| credit freeze is indeed an effective tool to prevent | | | | data sources such as Choicepoint? What if a |
| identity theft when the perpetrator is using the actual | | | | perpetrator uses a victim's PII with an entity that |
| PII "personal identifying information" of an innocent | | | | merely verifies personal information using a non-credit |
| consumer for the purpose of opening new credit or | | | | data source? |
| charge accounts to buy goods or services. But recent | | | | The fact is that utilities (including cable and satellite |
| statistics show that credit card fraud is merely 28-30% | | | | television)rarely request credit reports before turning |
| of all identity theft related claims. Another 19% of the | | | | on service and cellular telephone services do not use |
| reported fraud is related to telephone and utility | | | | credit reports nearly often enough before establishing |
| accounts while 18% is bank fraud and 13% | | | | new service. And what about employment related |
| employment fraud (and that accounts only for | | | | identity theft? Many smaller employers, if not most, |
| KNOWN employment fraud). | | | | never run a credit report anymore. Most |
| However, it is unclear whether or not a security freeze | | | | pre-employment background checks are based upon |
| will be effective preventing synthetic identity theft | | | | criminal searches, motor vehicle reports and locater |
| where a perpetrator may only use one significant | | | | searches. Here again, the credit freeze will not help |
| component of a consumer's identity, make up other | | | | prevent fraud. |
| pieces or mix and match identity components of | | | | A concerned consumer who has not experienced |
| multiple consumers. Since the credit repository cannot | | | | identity theft should not forget altogether about using a |
| clearly match the "new" identity to an existing credit file | | | | security freeze since it would be effective in |
| the perpetrator may still be successful opening a new | | | | preventing SOME forms of identity related fraud. A |
| unauthorized account. In the end, an unsuspecting | | | | victim of identity theft should probably definitely request |
| consumer, believing himself safe from credit related | | | | a freeze. But, just because a consumer places a credit |
| fraud due to his security freeze may still be tracked | | | | freeze on their credit file with each of the national |
| down by a third party debt collector who utilized a skip | | | | credit repositories doesn't mean they are safe from all |
| trace data base to find the closest match to the "new" | | | | identity related fraud. Consumers should still take |
| identity. | | | | protective steps to safeguard their PII. Losing sleep |
| Another problem some consumers have reported | | | | over the possibility of identity theft is unnecessary. If it |
| involves trying to request their PIN (personal | | | | happens, it happens. But if you do lose sleep thinking |
| identification number) to unlock their credit file after | | | | about identity theft, the credit freeze will only salvage a |
| having lost the PIN letter sent by the bureau. See: | | | | few winks. |