How to Freeze Your Credit: A Step-by-Step Guide
A credit freeze is the single most effective free step against identity theft. Here is exactly how to place one with each major bureau, what it does and does not block, and how to lift it in minutes when you need credit.
What a credit freeze actually does
A credit freeze — sometimes called a security freeze — tells the credit bureaus not to release your credit file to new lenders. Because almost no lender will open an account without pulling a file, a freeze quietly blocks new credit being opened in your name.
It is free to place, free to lift, and free to remove, by law in the United States. It does not affect your credit score, and it does not stop you using cards or loans you already have.
A freeze costs nothing, takes about fifteen minutes once, and stops the most profitable form of identity theft outright.
Freezing with each bureau
You must freeze with each bureau separately: Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. Each one has an online account flow, a phone line and a postal option, and each will ask you to verify your identity with questions about your history.
Create the online account for each bureau, choose the security freeze option, and save the PIN or password you are given. Store those in a password manager, not in email — you will need them to lift the freeze later.
If you have children or dependants, you can request a freeze on their files too. A child's file is a common identity-theft target precisely because nobody checks it for years.
Lifting a freeze
When you apply for a mortgage, card or phone contract, you temporarily lift the freeze. Online this usually takes under a minute; the bureaus must complete it within an hour by law.
Ask the lender which bureau they pull, and lift only that one, for a short window. Then let it re-freeze automatically.
What a freeze will not stop
A freeze does not stop misuse of accounts you already hold, tax or benefits fraud, or someone using a card number stolen in a breach. Pair it with breach monitoring and unique passwords on financial accounts.
It also does not stop the phishing message that starts most identity theft. Blocking the lookalike domain before the page loads, and knowing the tells, still does the earliest work.
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