What is a credit lock?

For quite a few years consumers have been able to place fraud alerts on their credit reports cautioning anyone checking their credit against issuing new credit. While this was not a bad idea, not issuing new credit was not mandatory, and many companies simply issued new credit anyway. In response to this many states began requiring the reporting agencies to “lock” or “freeze” consumers’ reports so that inquiries related to the issuing of new credit (lines of credit, loans, mortgages, credit cards, etc.) were not given credit information. This quickly grew to all but a few states, and the credit bureaus extended the program to all states.

While a lock is in place no one can access your credit, so no one can open a new account, not even you. This means you can’t take out a car loan or get a mortgage while the lock is in place. It does not cancel your existing credit. You can continue to use what you have. That means your existing creditors can continue to access your credit history. It’s new credit that’s not accessible.

Does the lock completely protect me from Identity Theft?

Although the lock protects you from many types of identity theft, it is not complete protection. Most identity theft involves using your identity to open new accounts. However, if someone is able to get access to your existing credit information, including address and account numbers, he could make charges on your existing accounts and steal from you that way. It is certainly harder to do it that way, but not impossible.

Are there any costs to doing a lock?

There are, or may be, costs to putting a lock in place. If you have already been a victim of identity theft there is no cost to placing the lock itself. However, you generally need to send a letter by certified mail to each of the credit reporting agencies, so that is an associated cost. In some states senior citizens are also entitled to place a lock without charge. For most of us, however, it costs about $10.00 per freeze per reporting agency. Husbands and wives should do separate locks, so that doubles the cost to about $80.00 with fees and mailing costs.

What if I really need to get new credit after I place a lock?

You can unlock your credit report. When you place the lock the company will give you a personal identification number (PIN) that you will need to unlock your credit. Don’t lose it. You will be very unhappy when you need to unlock your credit if you do not have your PIN.

How do I place a lock?

You need to send a certified letter to the addresses at the end of this article that includes your name, current and former addresses, Social Security number, and date of birth. For Experian you will also need two items proving residence, such as a copy of your driver license, a utility bill, or bank statement.

Here is a list of the credit bureaus with mailing addresses to call if you have questions regarding the lock (security freeze). Be ready to provide numerous of identification and pay a couple of bucks to initiate the freeze. Depending on where you live and your particular circumstances it can cost from 10 to 70 plus dollars for this service. Check out the individual credit bureau sites for detailed information regarding how to initiate a credit lock.

Equifax Security Freeze
P.O. Box 105788
Atlanta, GA 30348

Experian Security Freeze
P.O. Box 9554
Allen, TX 75013

TransUnion Security Freeze
P.O. Box 6790
Fullerton, CA 92834-6790

What is a credit lock?

Does the lock completely protect me from Identity Theft?

Are there any costs to doing a lock?

What if I really need to get new credit after I place a lock?

How do I place a lock?

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