Security Freeze - Update

[ClockWatcher]

Hi everyone,

While many of us focus on accumulating wealth on our way to financial independence, this can also make us more of a target for identity theft:

Got Money? You're a Prime Target for Identify Thieves

With the ongoing data breaches, I wanted to update a post I did at the beginning of April regarding security freezes, the only significant preventive measure for identity theft. At the time, I had just learned of some of the specialty consumer reports that are available, and was interested in learning how many other reporting agencies exist, particularly those with established processes to set up security freezes.

The single best directory of national consumer reporting agencies is from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau:

List of consumer reporting agencies

I recently came across a directory of listing many smaller credit reporting agencies & credit bureaus at the state/local level:

Directory Of Credit Reporting Agencies & Credit Bureaus
(The California directory appears to be truncated, but the other states I looked at appeared to be complete.)

I can confirm from personal experience that it is possible to get security freezes from:

National Credit Bureaus

Equifax
Experian
TransUnion

Supplementary/Alternative Credit Bureaus

Innovis
LexisNexis
SageStream
CoreLogic (Credco/SafeRent)

Checking & Banking Screening Agencies

Certegy
ChexSystems

Other Specialty Consumer Reporting Agencies

Clarity
NCTUE

I am presently working on obtaining reporting freezes from:

Advanced Resolution Services
Early Warning Services
TeleCheck
RealPage

If you haven’t already done so, I also recommend opting out of pre-screened offers of credit and insurance, as identity thieves sometimes take advantage of them:

OptOutPreScreen.com

It’s not the same as a reporting freeze, but you can reduce the amount of unsolicited telemarketing, direct-mail, and/or email offers, by getting yourself removed from Acxiom’s marketing data products:

Acxiom Opt-Out

If you are on the fence about security freezes, Brian Krebs, a well-respected writer on security issues, presented his own experiences with them:

How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Embrace the Security Freeze

Anyway, while it’s not easy protecting oneself in such a data-connected world, putting these measures in place has contributed to my peace of mind. Perhaps they will for you also. Take care.

.

[Tandemlovers]

And on a related note, Dirk Cotton recently posted this article on his blog:

"Assume Your Social Security Number Is Already Out There"

http://theretirementcafe.blogspot.com

[alistair]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ClockWatcher Hi everyone, <snip> National Credit Bureaus Equifax Experian TransUnion Supplementary/Alternative Credit Bureaus Innovis LexisNexis SageStream CoreLogic (Credco/SafeRent) Checking & Banking Screening Agencies Certegy ChexSystems Other Specialty Consumer Reporting Agencies Clarity NCTUE I am presently working on obtaining reporting freezes from: Advanced Resolution Services Early Warning Services TeleCheck RealPage If you haven’t already done so, I also recommend opting out of pre-screened offers of credit and insurance, as identity thieves sometimes take advantage of them: OptOutPreScreen.com It’s not the same as a reporting freeze, but you can reduce the amount of unsolicited telemarketing, direct-mail, and/or email offers, by getting yourself removed from Acxiom’s marketing data products: Acxiom Opt-Out If you are on the fence about security freezes, Brian Krebs, a well-respected writer on security issues, presented his own experiences with them: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Embrace the Security Freeze Anyway, while it’s not easy protecting oneself in such a data-connected world, putting these measures in place has contributed to my peace of mind. Perhaps they will for you also. Take care. .

That's an awful lot of places to go to get freezes. Probably worth the time and effort, but a lot of people won't be bothered, until too late.
Still, it would be great if there was a one stop shop, but then again THAT shop would probably become a target...

[ExFlyBoy5]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tandemlovers And on a related note, Dirk Cotton recently posted this article on his blog: "Assume Your Social Security Number Is Already Out There" The Retirement Café

That's the best advice out there. It's tough to prevent identity theft with 100% effectiveness but if you are vigilant about it, you can minimize the damage.

Good job to the OP, there's a lot of information on there...thanks for compiling and sharing!

[btdt22]

Thank you ClockWatcher

[timo2]

Thanks for all the good advice and links here. Really great!
I froze my credit bureaus. then I realized that those identity protection plans don't work if one's credit is frozen. That will save me some money right there.