What is the difference between a Credit Lock and Freeze?
/
A credit freeze and a credit lock are two separate services. They are very similar but do have distinct differences.
Credit Lock:
Instant lock. The main benefit of a lock versus a freeze is that a credit lock is supposedly easier and quicker. Experian says you can unlock “with a touch of a button,” while TransUnion says you can lock or unlock “with a single swipe or click.” Consumers simply have to sign into their online account to lock or unlock. The three big credit agencies also provide a mobile application.
Additional benefits. When you pay for a lock, it usually comes with added benefits like the ones below. * Credit report monitoring * Social Security Number scanning * 3-Bureau credit scores * Adding additional family members * ID Theft Insurance
Monthly Fee. Experian's lock will cost you $19.99 a month (free for the first 30 days). Transunion's credit lock plus is $19.95 a month and offers the ability to lock your Transunion and Equifax accounts. Equifax is the only one of the big three that still advertises their lock services "are free for life". The only problem is you need to lock all three to be secure. Locking all of the big three would cost you $39.94 a month and would have double coverage of the extra paid services that come with the Experian and Transunion locks.
Not governed, so they sell your data. This is the main pitfall. Because credit locking is not governed, all three locks can have different rules. Make sure to read the terms to know what each company is doing differently. One article brought up that using a lock service gave the companies access to still sell and use your data for marketing, whereas if you have a freeze, it is not allowed.
The marketing tries to convince you it's a better choice. As to why you saw a commercial for the locks, remember anything a for-profit company advertises and spends marketing dollars on, is most likely because it benefits themselves.
Credit Freeze:
Governed by state laws. The best quality of the freeze is that it is a regulated program. Because of this, the freezes will be held to a higher standard and cannot change their terms. This also takes away the companies abilities to use your data for other purposes, such as selling your data to marketers.
100% free in all states. Previously it cost money, depending on the state you lived in, to freeze your credit. After the Equifax breach this year, the government passed a law for freezes to be free in all states as a way to encourage consumers to protect their credit. As of September 21, 2018, you can freeze your credit report for free no matter where you live. The links to the freeze webpages for the three major credit bureaus are below. The big three are not the only bureaus that collect your data. In a distant fourth ranking is Innovis and father fifth is NCTUE (Telecom and Utilities data report). We suggest freezing all five.
Follow these links to set up a freeze for free:
Equifax: https://www.equifax.com/personal/credit-report-services/
Experian: https://www.experian.com/freeze/center.html#content-01
Transunion: https://service.transunion.com/dss/orderStep1_form.page
Innovis: https://www.innovis.com/securityFreeze/index
NCTUE: https://www.exchangeservicecenter.com/Freeze/jsp/SFF_PersonalIDInfo.jsp
Extra protection. When you initially freeze your credit report, you will get a random personal identification number (PIN). To thaw and refreeze your credit, you must provide the PIN that was assigned to you. Besides the PIN, they will also ask you to provide identifying information to complete the process. These are two extra layers of needed information that the lock doesn't require. With a lock, if your cell phone, ID, and password got into the wrong hands, they could instantly unlock your credit and create havoc. This makes the freeze much more secure. Just don't forget or lose your PIN. Store your PINs in a safe and secure place.
It can take three days. The general rule for a freeze is that you should allow up to three days to thaw or refreeze, but from our experience, unfreezing can be fast and easy. A TransUnion spokesman says it only takes within 15 minutes to implement a thaw by phone or online. This makes the benefit of the instant lock minimal to nonexistent. Once you find out which credit agency the bank or organization is going to pull from, call or use the online system at that agency to request a "thaw" of your credit report.
Speculation of future issues. The devil’s advocate perspective is, now that the credit agencies are no longer making money on the freezing services, will the services become harder to obtain or will the waiting period become longer? Could they use this as a tactic to get consumers to use their lock services, where they will have control of the service offering and price? As of now, it is unsure as only a few days have passed since the official "free" date. The only drawback noticed by users so far is that the free freeze isn't promoted on the front pages of their websites and in some instances trying to sign-up for a freeze has caused the sites to crash, making you come back at a later time to try again.
Overall: Both freezes and locks meet the goal of preventing a fraudster from opening new credit in your name. For the most regulated product that is now free for everyone, we still recommend sticking with a freeze.
Lastly, remember that placing a freeze or lock does not prevent you from using existing lines of credit you already have open. This also means they don't help to prevent criminals from gaining unauthorized access to your existing accounts. Even if you freeze or lock, still check annualcreditreport.com to review your credit report regularly and take normal precautions, such as alerts and strong passwords.
Planning Within Reach, LLC (PWR) is a fee-only and fiduciary wealth management firm offering one-time comprehensive financial planning, ongoing impact-focused investment management and tax preparation services in San Diego and nationwide. PWR is a woman-owned firm that specializes in busy professionals and impact investors. Planning Within Reach, LLC and their advisors do not receive commissions and do not hold any insurance licenses or brokerage relationships.