Credit Freeze Instructions

If you have reason to believe that you might be at heightened risk of fraud or identity theft, you may want to consider putting a security freeze on your credit information.

A security freeze is put in place via one of the three credit bureaus. It is a bureau-specific action, meaning that to put a 100% freeze on your information, you must initiate one for each of the three main credit bureaus. When you have a security freeze in place, lenders and other credit-related parties will be unable to access your credit.

A security freeze gives you the maximum amount of control over your credit information. It ensures that no one can obtain new credit, loans, or services in your name without your explicit permission. It is important to be aware, however, that placing a security freeze on your credit may also cause delays in the timely approval of credit applications that you have made. For this reason, it’s important to plan ahead when placing a freeze to minimize any inconvenience.

It’s also important to remember that only you can lift or “thaw” the security freeze, and that you must do so with each of the credit bureaus individually.

You can find more information and the online dispute forms at the credit bureau sites:

Equifax

Experian

TransUnion