Security freeze = Brain freeze
Remember when I told you that a new law went into effect on Jan. 1 that allows consumers to put a freeze on your credit reports to stop thieves from opening fraudulent new accounts in your name? It's supposed to help prevent identity theft.
As I said in my earlier post, if a creditor can't check your credit history, it's unlikely they'd extend new credit to you or anyone else trying to open accounts in your name. The freeze lessens your chances of becoming a victim.
It's a useful tool, but I've been wondering how easy or difficult it is to request the freeze, which can require a number of steps on your part to get it started.
Good Consumer Jane wrote in to say:
I just put a security freeze on all three accouints and received a letter from Experian today that said..."In accordance with state legislation and pursuant to your request to have a Security Freeze placed on your Experian Credit Report, we are required to notify you that within the last 30 days, changes to your name, address or Social Security Number have been posted to your file."
When you call the 877 they give to inquire about this, a recording tells you that if you receive one of these letters, you should request a credit report and review it for accuracy or unauthorized changes. Is this a way of conning consumers who put on a security freeze to order a credit report? Luckily I haven't used my free report from Experian in the past years, so I'll get mine free.
I have a hard time believing some change really took place at exactly the same time I put on the security freeze. I suspiciously suspect that the change that took place WAS the security freeze, and they're just trying to get unsuspecting people to order the report.
Or maybe I'm being too cynical.
As one cynic to another, I can't blame Jane for raising an eyebrow. It does seem rather curious that you'd have to immediately check your credit report after requesting a freeze. That's not a big deal if you still have a free credit report per year that's owed to you, but if you've used them all up, that can start getting expensive.
When I asked Jane to write back about how her adventures with the freeze played out, she wrote back right quick to share the headache she experiened. She said:
I figured out why I got the the letter. My Maryland driver's license contains my full name including my middle name. From an old credit report from Experian, I can see that the name on my account was my first name, middle initial, last name which is what I use on all official documentation.
Since they saw my middle name on my driver's license, they added it to my account and thus changed my name. Because of the security freeze, they sent me a letter to notify me of the change with an eventual recommendation to order a credit report. Of course they could explained that in the letter, but then you wouldn't want/need to get a copy of your credit report.
I'm still suspicioius as to their motives.
Furthermore, Jane said that once the security freeze went into effect, it created other problems for her when she requested her credit reports to check on that change Experian notified her about.
When I tried to order my free report from Equifax, I got an error there saying that the security freeze prohibits ordering one online, so I have to mail a request in to them along with a copy of my social security card (or something else with my SSN on it) and my driver's license (or something else with proof of address).
When I did the same with TransUnion, they asked me to logon to my previously created account. I couldn't remember my password and was too lazy to try to find it, so I guessed wrongly twice, and they "suspended" my account with no instructions on what to do next. Yep, I'm having fun now.
Yeesh. I'm mulling the security freeze over and haven't acted yet because I have never been much of an early adopter of anything in my life. I like to take the wait-and-see how it goes for everyone else approach. Anyone else encounter problems when you requested a freeze?
Thanks for sharing your story with us, Jane!
Categories: Complaints, Consumer protection, Consumer safety, Credit reports
Comments
I have found that any contact with the credit agencies to be frustrating across the board.
Posted by: Jeremy | January 31, 2008 3:28 PM
There's also LifeLock which puts fraud alerts on your credit file. This just means that the lender must call you personally if someone is trying to open an account in your name. This can be beneficial if you suspect someone is trying to steal your identity. But I've heard that this service can hinder your ability to get the free annual credit report because of the fraud alert.
DD: Jake, I'd do a Web search on LifeLock before you sign up with them. They're being sued in a number of states right now for not delivering on what's promised. And you can personally put a fraud alert on your own credit file without paying a company to do it for you. Fraud alerts also don't provide you much protection. A credit freeze is, by far, the best method to help protect you from identity theft.
Posted by: Jake | June 5, 2008 4:21 PM