Credit Freeze
Consumers today are still reacting from the massive data breach announced by Equifax in September that affected over 143 million Americans. Many turned to freezing their credit from the major bureaus after the news hit to protect themselves. When one freezes their credit, it’ll block anyone, including yourself, from making new credit and accounts in their name. When one wishes to apply for a card or loan, they’re going to have to ask and pay for the account to be unfrozen. However, many consumers are not aware of the other possible threats that are out there beyond freezing their account. Freezing their credit will not prevent or help in the following situations:
- It won’t stop hackers from committing fraud using existing accounts they’ve obtained before the freeze. – A credit freeze is suitable for protecting the hackers to misuse your personal information in the future, not in the past. If a hacker already has access to your bank or credit accounts and information, they can still commit financial fraud and identity theft.
- It won’t prevent you from all future data breaches; they can get your information another way. –Credit bureaus aren’t the only companies that have sensitive consumer data on file. You’ve probably filled out many forums where you include your social security number, birth date, and address on them, like medical records and such. Hackers don’t try to breach credit bureau alone; remember the breaches that happened to Target and Whole Foods? Yes, they have your personal and financial information on record. Also if you think the Equifax data breach was considered one of the most massive breaches in U.S., think again. Yahoo, Myspace, LinkedIn, and Home Depot in the US were larger over the Equifax breach.
A credit freeze is a wonderful defense plan that helps consumers avoid identity theft. However, freezing your credit is by far not the only way consumers can do to protect themselves. It is essential for them to monitor their credit report and setting up alerts and hire professionals to oversee your account that goes beyond from freezing their credit.