Freeze your Credit [video]
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Freeze your credit.
This is one of the best ways to prevent against identity theft. It prevents anyone from opening an account in your name or buying a house in your name.
It's completely free to be able to freeze and unfreeze, and you can unfreeze whenever you need someone to check your credit. I got a car loan a year ago. They said they were checking my credit at TransUnion. I went to Transunion, I unfroze it for 24 hours and had it refreeze automatically.
When you go to the credit bureau site, you may find that they are steering you towards a credit lock.
Different service, similar, but different. The credit lock - they do charge a fee in some cases, it depends on the credit bureau. They are saying it's instantaneous. With just a swipe, it's at your fingertips. They can go ahead and lock up your credit and unlock it.
The freeze is already very fast. They are required by law to have your credit frozen within one business day of you requesting it (electronically) and unfrozen within 1 hour. So really sufficient. I found it to even be faster in many cases.
The other thing with the credit lock, that is a contractual agreement with the credit bureau not governed by law like the freeze. So in those contracts, it's what they say according to those contracts, which they can also change and that varies per credit bureau. They can sneak in their mandatory arbitration clauses. They can prevent you from being part of a class action lawsuit if there is a hack or something going on. They can do different things with your data for marketing purposes. These are things that you really need to look through if you are leaning towards the lock.
I recommend the freeze.
That's what I've done for myself and I've got the links below if you are going to go ahead and do that.
Linda Rogers, CFP®, EA, MSBA is the owner and founder of Planning Within Reach, LLC (PWR). Originally from New Jersey, Linda services clients throughout San Diego county and nationwide. She leads the design of PWR's investment portfolios which utilize broad, low-cost investments that integrate environmentally, socially, and governance (ESG) factors.
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.