- You can only freeze your credit report by calling each of the three credit bureaus and requesting this service. You must prove your identity and choose a personal PIN. Every time you want to life the freeze you must prove your identity, such as with a copy of your driver's license, provide the PIN and name the creditor who may view your report. Credit freezes do not apply to current lenders.
- If you do not know why there is a freeze on your credit, you may have tried to order a fraud alert in the past and confused it with a credit freeze. An alternative to a freeze, an alert warns creditors that they should verify the identity of the borrower. This simply requires diligence on the part of the creditor; the creditor can always access a report that has a fraud alert. Also, most fraud alerts only last 90 days.
- It can be easy to forget about requesting a credit freeze, especially if you have not applied for credit, or a service that requires a credit check, in a while. Credit freezes usually last until you request the credit bureaus to permanently remove them. Security experts often warn victims to freeze their credit to stop an identity thief from opening new accounts. During the stress of the identity theft, you may have overlooked the specifics of the freeze.
- In the event that you no longer want a security freeze, you can request that the bureaus remove it. The bureaus have online forms to lift a freeze permanently. You must enter your identity information, such as Social Security number, address and, most importantly, the PIN that you chose. You must have that PIN to let creditors view your report during a freeze, or to prove your identity to remove the freeze.
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