Recommended methods to protect yourself from identity theft and fraud include_______.

Recommended methods to protect yourself from identity theft and fraud include_______.

a Placing a credit freeze with the credit bureaus.

b Allowing inaccurate information to be removed from your report after 7 years.

c Monitoring your credit report every 2-3 years.

d Utilizing a specialty locking or monitoring service.

Answer: a Placing a credit freeze with the credit bureaus.

A credit freeze is among the most powerful measures that will help people protect themselves from identity theft and fraud that involves credit. Credit freeze or security freeze means that your credit report is closed from access to practically everyone but yourself, which would make it very difficult for identity thieves to open credit accounts in your name. During the period of filing a credit freeze, the credit reporting agencies are restricted from providing credit information to new credit without consent.

Indeed, this technique is quite effective given that many lenders and service providers run credit checks before extending credit. When you report any information to the three credit bureaus as frozen, it can be effective in the case where the scammer seeks to use your Social Security number to get credit as this will freeze the credit history. For instance, two people cannot get a loan using the same social security number; if someone steals the latter and attempts to open a credit card in the owner’s name, the credit card company is bound to reject the application because it cannot verify the account holder’s credit.

For that, you have to put a freeze on all three main credit reporting agencies, namely Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. Nevertheless, a credit freeze is possibly one of the most effective solutions and, at the same time, is not effort-free. You will be also able to thaw the credit freeze when you want to apply for credit yourself, though this is a temporary action. However, this little inconvenience is trumped by the comprehensive guard that a freeze places on one’s credit that ensures they don’t fall into identity theft or have accounts opened in their name fraudulently.