6 Ways to Protect Yourself from the Equifax Credit Breach
3. Initiate a Credit Freeze
To prevent any criminals taking out loans in your name you can choose to freeze your credit. Note, that due to the breach, these fraudsters are likely to be selling your details on the black market. Identity fraudsters can purchase it and will leave your credit in tatters to make a quick buck. To make the credit freeze happen you’ll need to contact Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. You can do this by making phone calls to all three companies (see numbers below), and the process is completely automated so you won’t need to deal with any people that you might be angry with. However, this process does cost money depending on which state you are located in. But know, that if you are planning to take a car loan or mortgage anytime in the near future you won’t be able to. You’ll still be able to use your existing credit cards though, as a freeze only stops anything new being taken out in your name.
Call for Credit Freeze:
TransUnion: 1-888-909-8872
Equifax: 1-800-349-9960 Experian: 1-888-397-3742
Experian: 1-888-397-3742