Thoughts on credit freeze

cmyx6go · 08-10-2023, 10:56 AM

With all the nonsense with identity theft and fraud going on, I'm seriously considering putting a freeze on my credit. Has anyone done this? Are there any downsides? It seems straight forward. I can put on freeze on the three credit agencies and should I need to apply for credit, I can temporarily remove the freeze.

I'd appreciate any thoughts or experiences.

DocL · 08-10-2023, 11:28 AM

I had to do that because I was the victim of identity theft about 10 years ago. It was a royal pain in the ass to have to call the credit card everytime I wanted to make a big purchase. But it was necessary for about a year before I felt safe again.

cmyx6go · 08-10-2023, 11:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DocL

I had to do that because I was the victim of identity theft about 10 years ago. It was a royal pain in the ass to have to call the credit card everytime I wanted to make a big purchase. But it was necessary for about a year before I felt safe again.

Are we talking two different things? I'm talking about the credit bureaus not releasing my credit report to inquiries.

Marmugmotleocay · 08-10-2023, 11:42 AM

I locked 2 reports down and froze the other one. The 2 bureaus have an ap that I can lock and unlock at anytime. The other 1 had to be froze because they want you to pay monthly to lock.

RickFLM4 · 08-10-2023, 11:50 AM

I froze my credit with all 3 major credit bureaus following identity theft. Pretty easy process to freeze and temp unfreeze and personally I don't apply for credit often, so pretty minor inconvenience. I know it works because a couple of times a year, I receive letters from credit card companies or banks telling me they were unable to open an account in my name because they could not access my credit report. I recommend doing it.

RickFLM4 · 08-10-2023, 11:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Marmugmotleocay

I locked 2 reports down and froze the other one. The 2 bureaus have an ap that I can lock and unlock at anytime. The other 1 had to be froze because they want you to pay monthly to lock.

What do you mean by "lock" and how does it differ from freezing?

Marmugmotleocay · 08-10-2023, 11:53 AM

The locks with TransUnion and Equifax are FREE. The Experian freeze is also FREE. The Experian lock cost money.

Marmugmotleocay · 08-10-2023, 11:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RickFLM4

What do you mean by "lock" and how does it differ from freezing?

I believe they are basically the same thing. Nobody can pull your credit.
The lock I can just press a button on the ap and unlock for my credit to be pulled and tap it again to relock.
The freeze I need to call the bureau with a special number to have it unfrozen. The lock is far easier.

Marmugmotleocay · 08-10-2023, 12:03 PM

The funny thing is Experian( Frozen report ) is always sending me new offers for credit cards. Then if I was to get one they would change my score. It just seems really odd.

DocL · 08-10-2023, 12:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cmyx6go

Are we talking two different things? I'm talking about the credit bureaus not releasing my credit report to inquiries.

I locked down everything, no credit inquires, and did everything the police said to do. It was a while ago so I don't remeber the specifics. But even applying for a Macy's card to get 0% interest for a new bed was a PITA. But it was what had to be done in my instance. HTH.

cmyx6go · 08-10-2023, 12:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RickFLM4

What do you mean by "lock" and how does it differ from freezing?

I found this.
https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/f...-credit-freeze

Alfisti · 08-10-2023, 01:01 PM

With your absolutely cockamaimie financial system down there i'd be VERY careful about fucking up your credit history.

shawnhayes · 08-10-2023, 01:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alfisti

With your absolutely cockamaimie financial system down there i'd be VERY careful about fucking up your credit history.

Nope.

An identity theft with freezes on my credit report made my score go UP. NO, I AM NOT KIDDING. When you are actively involved with your credit agencies (signed up, locking and unlocking your credit) they give you points because you CARE.

Shawn

Alfisti · 08-10-2023, 01:06 PM

I dunno the specifics, i just know you make one wrong move and you're fucked for years. This obsession with credit rating is just insane.

antgenn · 08-10-2023, 01:10 PM

I had it frozen with all 3 following personal data leak from my former employer. No hassle at all, unlocked it twice for buying a car and opening new CC. Both times gave permission to run a report for 24 hours and it was frozen again automatically. Feel much more secure that way.

dreamingat30fps · 08-10-2023, 01:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alfisti

I dunno the specifics, i just know you make one wrong move and you're fucked for years. This obsession with credit rating is just insane.

I never look at my credit score. Had a short sale back during the 2008 real estate crash. Open and close accounts and cards as needed. Never had any issues and my credit score is pretty good. I only know this because whenever I do finance something they show you what your score is.

Never thought about a freeze, but might look into it. No plans to be financing or opening any new credit lines for a while. Especially with these interest rates.

cmyx6go · 08-10-2023, 03:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alfisti

With your absolutely cockamaimie financial system down there i'd be VERY careful about fucking up your credit history.

Which is exactly why I did this. My credit is exceptional and I'd like to keep it that way. I got a letter in the mail from a company I'd never heard of. They have something to do with medical tests. It said that due to a ransomware attack, my info is out there.

All done - I'm frozen

rcracin · 08-10-2023, 03:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cmyx6go

Which is exactly why I did this. My credit is exceptional and I'd like to keep it that way. I got a letter in the mail from a company I'd never heard of. They have something to do with medical tests. It said that due to a ransomware attack, my info is out there.

All done - I'm frozen

Got the same letter. I’m assuming my doctor’s office gave the Lab company my information. I find that to be shady practice. Been thinking the same thing - to freeze.

cmyx6go · 08-10-2023, 03:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rcracin

Got the same letter. I’m assuming my doctor’s office gave the Lab company my information. I find that to be shady practice. Been thinking the same thing - to freeze.

I never put my social security number on paperwork at the doctors office. They don't need it. I'm giving them my medical insurance card. I'm guessing somehow that info gets transmitted from the insurance to the lab. I hate how much info is out there.

RickFLM4 · 08-10-2023, 04:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cmyx6go

I never put my social security number on paperwork at the doctors office. They don't need it. I'm giving them my medical insurance card. I'm guessing somehow that info gets transmitted from the insurance to the lab. I hate how much info is out there.

Speaking of doctors, even with HIPAA I feel like they are the worst of the worst. It seems like every time I go, they are implementing a new system and need my information all over again. Every doctor. And they never know what happened to the information they had, which makes me wonder how careful they are with it. Maybe they should go back to paper.

DETRoadster · 08-14-2023, 09:51 PM

cmyx6go , my wife and I froze ours about 5 years ago and sleep great at night because of it. We dont have to pay for a bunch of monitoring BS. We just locked that shit down. Its not like you (or us) are in our 20s trying to open up credit cards, get a new iPhone on a payment plan, or anything else like that. I'll bet like us you only open a new line of credit every 3 to 5 years at most.

Since locking ours down we have had to "unfreeze" a couple times. Once for a HELOC, and once to get quotes for construction loans. My wife unfroze hers recently to change over to a different credit card for her business. The bureaus make it pretty easy actually. Takes us about 30 minutes of work to unfreeze both our accounts across 4 bureaus. The nice thing is that every bureau offers a "temporary" unfreeze where you can pick the start and stop dates so it will automatically re-freeze itself after the date you pick.

Looks like you went for it. You wont regret it!

BMW F22 · 08-14-2023, 11:27 PM

Along the same line: my mom’s credit was hit hard due to ID theft. My brother spent a month helping her with clearing it up and such. I believe they disputed things with the credit bureaus, yet her credit score dropped from high 700s-low 800s to mid 600 range and has stayed there since. It’s been 2 years or so. Any recourse or recommendation on how to boost her score?

08-10-2023, 10:56 AM	#1
cmyx6go Colonel 17133 Rep 2,093 Posts Drives: 2022 X6///M Comp Join Date: Aug 2015 Location: NYC iTrader: (2) Garage List 2019 X6 ///M [10.00]	Thoughts on credit freeze With all the nonsense with identity theft and fraud going on, I'm seriously considering putting a freeze on my credit. Has anyone done this? Are there any downsides? It seems straight forward. I can put on freeze on the three credit agencies and should I need to apply for credit, I can temporarily remove the freeze. I'd appreciate any thoughts or experiences. __________________ I thought I was a good person but the way I react when people drive slowly in the left lane would suggest otherwise
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08-10-2023, 11:28 AM	#2
DocL Captain 2148 Rep 965 Posts Drives: 2018 M3 Comp 6spd Join Date: Jan 2019 Location: Delray Beach iTrader: (2)	I had to do that because I was the victim of identity theft about 10 years ago. It was a royal pain in the ass to have to call the credit card everytime I wanted to make a big purchase. But it was necessary for about a year before I felt safe again. __________________ 2018 F80 M3. YMB/BLK. ZCP. Three Pedals. "Education will never be as expensive as ignorance."
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08-10-2023, 11:42 AM	#4
Marmugmotleocay Captain 1807 Rep 926 Posts Drives: 2021 BMW X3M Competition Join Date: Jun 2016 Location: York, PA iTrader: (2)	I locked 2 reports down and froze the other one. The 2 bureaus have an ap that I can lock and unlock at anytime. The other 1 had to be froze because they want you to pay monthly to lock.
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08-10-2023, 11:50 AM	#5
RickFLM4 Brigadier General 12020 Rep 4,880 Posts Drives: M4 Join Date: Jul 2015 Location: PB County, FL iTrader: (0)	I froze my credit with all 3 major credit bureaus following identity theft. Pretty easy process to freeze and temp unfreeze and personally I don't apply for credit often, so pretty minor inconvenience. I know it works because a couple of times a year, I receive letters from credit card companies or banks telling me they were unable to open an account in my name because they could not access my credit report. I recommend doing it. __________________ Current: 2018 SO/SS F83 ZCP Gone: 2015 SO/SO F82 Last edited by RickFLM4; 08-10-2023 at 12:33 PM..
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08-10-2023, 11:53 AM	#7
Marmugmotleocay Captain 1807 Rep 926 Posts Drives: 2021 BMW X3M Competition Join Date: Jun 2016 Location: York, PA iTrader: (2)	The locks with TransUnion and Equifax are FREE. The Experian freeze is also FREE. The Experian lock cost money.
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08-10-2023, 12:03 PM	#9
Marmugmotleocay Captain 1807 Rep 926 Posts Drives: 2021 BMW X3M Competition Join Date: Jun 2016 Location: York, PA iTrader: (2)	The funny thing is Experian( Frozen report ) is always sending me new offers for credit cards. Then if I was to get one they would change my score. It just seems really odd.
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08-10-2023, 01:01 PM	#12
Alfisti Brigadier General 6973 Rep 3,283 Posts Drives: 2008 Saab 9-3 Combi Join Date: Nov 2014 Location: Toronto, Canada iTrader: (0)	With your absolutely cockamaimie financial system down there i'd be VERY careful about fucking up your credit history.
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08-10-2023, 01:06 PM	#14
Alfisti Brigadier General 6973 Rep 3,283 Posts Drives: 2008 Saab 9-3 Combi Join Date: Nov 2014 Location: Toronto, Canada iTrader: (0)	I dunno the specifics, i just know you make one wrong move and you're fucked for years. This obsession with credit rating is just insane.
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08-10-2023, 01:10 PM	#15
antgenn Enlisted Member 342 Rep 39 Posts Drives: 2023 X3 M40i Join Date: Mar 2016 Location: PA iTrader: (0) Garage List 2023 X3 M40i [0.00] 2016 Infinity Q50 [0.00] 2016 BMW X3 [0.00]	I had it frozen with all 3 following personal data leak from my former employer. No hassle at all, unlocked it twice for buying a car and opening new CC. Both times gave permission to run a report for 24 hours and it was frozen again automatically. Feel much more secure that way.
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08-14-2023, 09:51 PM	#21
DETRoadster Space Force - 4 Star General 11469 Rep 3,265 Posts Drives: M2 MG 6MT / Moto Guzzi V7 Join Date: Jul 2016 Location: Seattle iTrader: (1)	cmyx6go , my wife and I froze ours about 5 years ago and sleep great at night because of it. We dont have to pay for a bunch of monitoring BS. We just locked that shit down. Its not like you (or us) are in our 20s trying to open up credit cards, get a new iPhone on a payment plan, or anything else like that. I'll bet like us you only open a new line of credit every 3 to 5 years at most. Since locking ours down we have had to "unfreeze" a couple times. Once for a HELOC, and once to get quotes for construction loans. My wife unfroze hers recently to change over to a different credit card for her business. The bureaus make it pretty easy actually. Takes us about 30 minutes of work to unfreeze both our accounts across 4 bureaus. The nice thing is that every bureau offers a "temporary" unfreeze where you can pick the start and stop dates so it will automatically re-freeze itself after the date you pick. Looks like you went for it. You wont regret it!
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08-14-2023, 11:27 PM	#22
BMW F22 Major General 3724 Rep 9,783 Posts Drives: ///M235i Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Bay Area iTrader: (8)	Along the same line: my mom’s credit was hit hard due to ID theft. My brother spent a month helping her with clearing it up and such. I believe they disputed things with the credit bureaus, yet her credit score dropped from high 700s-low 800s to mid 600 range and has stayed there since. It’s been 2 years or so. Any recourse or recommendation on how to boost her score?
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