Protect yourself from online fraud

How to a put FREE security freeze on your credit report

Recently the Polk County Sheriff's Dept hosted a free Data Privacy Lunch & Learn at the Clubhouse. One of their recommendations was to put a freeze on your Credit Report when you are not actively applying for new credit.

What it does: While a credit freeze is in place, nobody can open a new credit account in your name, including you. If you need to do things like apply for new credit or a job, rent an apartment, or buy insurance, you can temporarily lift the freeze and put it back when you’re done.

A credit freeze is always a good idea, but it’s even more important if your Social Security number or other information is exposed in a data breach or if an identity thief has misused your information.

Who can place one: Anyone can freeze their credit report, for any reason, even if their identity hasn’t been stolen.

How long it lasts: A credit freeze lasts until you lift it.

Cost: Free

How to place one: Click on the links to each of the three credit bureaus and follow their how-to instructions — Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion.

When to lift one: Contact the bureau(s) to request it be lifted when you need lenders to access your credit. It is a good idea to identify which bureau a lender will use to check your credit and just lift the freeze at that one bureau, and then put the freeze back in place once the need for a credit check passes.

Here's a video link from NBC Boston's Investigative Team showing exactly how to do this.

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