Helpful miscellaneous articles
regarding our retirement plan and planning.
Like you, I review my retirement nestegg and plan from time to
time. Recently, I went though some
continued education for some credentials I maintain and it occurred to me that
we all could use a review about these issues.
So with your help, we will share and post articles and info that may be
helpful and of interest to many of you in this section.
Editor’s Note: Over 10 years
ago our house got broken into, and as a result from being a crime victim, we
were eligible for credit bureau security freezes for 5 years and we took
advantage. Now, since 2018’s big
financial breaches, the government has mandated that the credit bureaus must
offer FREE security freezes INDEFINITELY.
Why should you consider this?
Well, because any ID theft of your data to access our accounts, apply
for a credit card or loan in your name, or apply for government benefits under
your name, all start with a credit check
at the bureaus. The freeze stops this
type of ID Theft in its tracks. Yes, it
is a little annoying to have to “lift” the freeze temporarily when you apply
for some type of credit or buy a new car, but that is certainly a little price
to pay for not waking up one day to learn you have a new debt of $100,000.00
taken out be a scam artist. Consider
freezing your info. And here’s a further
note; ALL the bureaus offer a “for fee” Fraud service but if you look careful
enough you can sign up for the FREE service for you and separately for your
spouse.
You Can Now Freeze Your Credit for Free —
Here’s Why You Should Do It
By Jon Byman, July 30,
2019
Freezing your credit can go a long way toward preventing
someone from using your identity.Getty
Images/Westend61
Another massive
data breach, this time at Capital One, is likely to have a lot of us asking if
there’s something we can do to protect ourselves before our information gets
out — there is. While you can sign up for credit monitoring or other services,
putting a credit freeze in place will make it very difficult for anyone but you
to take out credit in your name. That means that even if a criminal gets enough
information to open an account in your name, they’ll have trouble doing it.
As of 2018, a
new law that makes it free to freeze your credit went into effect. Prior to the
new law, each of the three credit bureaus could charge you to put a freeze in
place (usually around $10 at each bureau). Then, you often had to pay again to
unfreeze or "thaw" your credit if you wanted to do something that
required a credit check, like applying for a new loan. However, after the
massive Equifax
data breach in
2017, consumer advocates called on Congress to provide free access to credit
freezes.
WHAT DOES FREEZING MY CREDIT DO?
When you freeze
your credit, the credit reporting bureaus can’t give any information to anyone
who makes an inquiry about you. Typically, businesses inquire about your credit
when you (or someone posing as you) attempts to, for instance, open a new
credit card, buy a car or rent an apartment. The credit check helps the
business determine if they want to lend or rent to you, and it can help set
your rates and lending terms for loans and credit cards.
Ready
to take the next step? A financial advisor can show you how
all the pieces of your financial plan fit together.
When your
credit is frozen and the business can’t get any information about you, it
typically stops the process — which means a fraudster will be unable to open an
account while using your identity.
WHY DOESN’T EVERYONE JUST FREEZE THEIR CREDIT THEN?
While freezing
your credit won’t guarantee safety, it’s a pretty strong defense against
identity theft. But, remember, you still need to unfreeze your credit if you
legitimately want to apply for a loan or line of credit. While it’s not a heavy
burden, it does add extra steps anytime you do something that requires a credit
check.
You could opt
for credit monitoring instead of a full freeze. When you pay for a
credit-monitoring service, you’ll get alerts about any activity involving your
credit report. This can quickly bring a potential problem to your attention —
but it’s not preventative, so you won’t know if someone has used your identity
until after it happens.
You can
also request a free copy of your credit
report annually from each of the major credit bureaus and check it for any
activity you don’t recognize. If you find anything suspicious, report it
immediately and take steps to lock down your credit through a fraud alert or
credit freeze.
HOW DO I FREEZE MY CREDIT?
If you want to
freeze your credit, you need to do it at each of the three major credit
bureaus: Equifax (1-800-349-9960), TransUnion (1-888-909-8872) and Experian (1-888-397-3742). Or
you can do it all online (see below) If
you request a freeze, be sure to store the passwords (or PINs) you’ll need to
thaw your credit in a safe place.
Whether or not
you choose to freeze your credit, fraudsters could still take advantage of you
by getting things like your credit card number(s) or passwords to online
accounts. Make sure you’re taking the proper steps to secure
your information so that it doesn’t fall into the wrong hands.
This
article originally published in 2018. It has been updated to reflect new
information.
+++++
Freezing
Your Credit
The whole process of securing your credit
with a credit freeze request is pretty simple and easy to complete online and
provides a huge amount of peace of mind.
Step 1:
Contact each of the six credit agencies through their website, phone, or by
mail. I would recommend the online credit freeze. If
you have questions or have issues with the online method, calling the credit
agency would the other recommended option.
Step 2:
Once you have completed your online request you will receive a PIN, usually by
mail. Keep this PIN in a safe place, you will need it to easily
unfreeze and refreeze your credit with the agency. Some will use a login and a
PIN and others just your data and the PIN to “lift” or remove a freeze.
Step 3:
Confirm your credit is in a frozen status. You can contact the credit
agency directly or use your yearly FREE credit report from AnnualCreditReport.com.
That’s It!
When you need to have your credit report pulled for a legitimate
reason such as purchasing a car or house all you have to do is provide your PIN
to unfreeze your credit.
These BIG 3 are your biggest
concern and will be where you will occasionally need to “lift” a freeze for
some agency to do a credit check on you.
Equifax
Online: https://www.freeze.equifax.com
Phone:
1-800-685-1111
By Mail:
Equifax Security Freeze
PO Box 105788
Atlanta, GA 30348-5788
TransUnion
Online: https://service.transunion.com/dss/orderStep1_form.page
Phone:
1-888-909-8872
By Mail:
TransUnion LLC
PO Box 2000
Chester, PA 19016
Experian
Online: https://www.experian.com/freeze/center.html
Phone:
1-888-397-3742
By Mail:
Experian Security Freeze
PO Box 9554
Allen, TX 75013
(As with any of these informative articles,
anyone who needs someone to talk to about
this
very subject contact me and I can direct you to a knowledgeable advisor).
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