How to freeze your credit after a data breach

Back successful 2017, Equifax announced that hackers stole fractional of the US population’s Social Security numbers successful what, we said, “will apt extremity up being 1 of the worst information breaches to ever impact the country.” Perhaps — until this year, erstwhile astir 2.9 cardinal rows of information were collected done a breach astatine National Public Data (NPD), a institution that resells collected idiosyncratic information for inheritance checks. This information included names, Social Security numbers, and different idiosyncratic information.

As usual, erstwhile this benignant of happening hits the news, our contiguous absorption is to wonderment what we tin bash to forestall ourselves from falling prey to individuality theft, unauthorized withdrawals, mendacious recognition applications, and different nasty consequences. And, also, arsenic usual, the accusation from the breached enactment — and from astir quality organizations — is often vague and unsatisfactory.

How bash I cognize if my information was stolen from National Public Data?

Unfortunately, astatine the clip this communicative was written, National Public Data was not providing a batch of information astir whose information was stolen. There are a mates of websites retired determination (specifically, npdbreach.com, from Atlas Privacy, and npd.pentester.com) that accidental they tin archer you, but since they inquire you to participate information specified arsenic your commencement year, it’s up to you whether you privation to spot them oregon not.

Many companies that person suffered a breach yet connection the services of a information steadfast that volition show your relationship for a play of time; but truthful far, the lone happening NPD is doing is recommending that you show your accounts, get a escaped recognition report, and initiate a recognition freeze.

What’s a recognition freeze?

A recognition frost prevents creditors from viewing your recognition file. Whenever you use for a recognition card, loan, mortgage, oregon adjacent conscionable to rent an apartment, the slope oregon landlord evaluates your recognition and the hazard of approving you. A frost blocks them from retrieving your recognition information, thereby preventing an attacker from taking retired caller recognition successful your name. 

How bash I spot a freeze?

The bully quality is that placing a recognition frost is free. It volition past 1 year, and aft that, you tin renew it. The atrocious quality is that you'll person to scope retired to each recognition reporting institution independently. There are 3 main companies successful the US: Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion.

Here are the interaction numbers for each company, arsenic good arsenic links to their frost landing pages.

Does this mean I won’t beryllium capable to rent an apartment, instrumentality retired a caller recognition card, oregon get a loan?

No, you’ll conscionable person to temporarily assistance your freeze, and the support process mightiness beryllium somewhat delayed. If you tin find retired which recognition reporting institution your imaginable landlord oregon slope uses, you tin assistance it lone for that company. This won’t impact your recognition score, and it won’t forestall you from receiving a recognition report. You tin besides support utilizing your aforesaid recognition cards, though if you deliberation they mightiness person been compromised, you should get caller ones.

Couldn’t an attacker assistance my frost and unfastened a caller enactment of credit?

In bid to assistance a freeze, you request either an relationship with the recognition bureau, a password, oregon a PIN (depending connected the recognition bureau). Each bureau puts successful respective safeguards to marque definite lone the proprietor of the relationship tin alteration it.

When should I enactment this frost connected my account?

You’re astir apt present due to the fact that you’re disquieted your information has been compromised. You should effort to bash this arsenic soon arsenic possible. Even if you've happened present by accident, you mightiness see putting this frost connected your accounts arsenic a information precaution due to the fact that there’s nary telling whether your information is retired there. And erstwhile you petition a frost online, it is required to instrumentality effect wrong 1 concern day.

When should I unfreeze my credit?

It’s reasonably casual to assistance your frost successful the lawsuit that you privation to unfastened a caller recognition paper oregon rent a caller flat (or bash thing other involving your credit). And each institution must lift your frost wrong 1 hr of it being requested online. Still, it won’t wounded to springiness your creditor a heads-up, conscionable successful case.

Is determination thing other I tin do?

There are respective different steps you tin take:

Update, August 21st, 2024: This nonfiction was primitively published successful September 2017 and has been updated to bespeak sizeable changes successful recognition freezes, reports, and the latest information breach.