 TITLE: How to Lock Your Credit CONTENT: What's the Difference Between a Credit Lock and a Credit Freeze?\n----------------------------------------------------------------\nWhile the end results are similar, credit locks and credit freezes are significantly different. The major differences are as follows:\n*   Credit freezes are free, and their availability is mandated under federal law. They may be obtained by phoning or sending mail to Experian, Equifax or TransUnion. Unlike credit lock services, you can request credit freezes for your children under the age of 16, as well as for yourself.\n*   The credit bureaus are required to complete a freeze on your credit information within 24 hours of receiving a phone request and must lift the freeze within one hour following a phone request.\n*   When you request a credit freeze from a given bureau, it will give you a PIN that you must use when requesting the freeze's removal. If you cannot supply your PIN, the freeze can still be lifted, but additional identity verification will be needed, and the one-hour response requirement is removed.\n*   Credit locks let you control access to your credit reports directly, via smartphone apps or a secure website.\n*   After registering with each bureau and verifying your identity with them, you can turn access to your credit files on and off instantly via smartphone app or online, with no delays or PINs, when you lock your credit.\nA convenience of credit lock is that it enables you to coordinate with lenders (at your bank or credit union, an auto dealership, or when seeking instant credit at a retailer, for instance) to enable access to your credit score when they need it to process your loan application, and then turn access off again when they finish.\nBecause you control the accessibility of your credit file directly, credit locks can eliminate delays in blocking access to your data if you notice suspicious activity because there's no 24-hour turnaround, as with a credit freeze. Credit locks make it easier to unblock your data when you want a lender or other creditor to be able to check your credit, and they make it less likely you'll forget to re-block the data after an authorized credit check is performed.\nWhen either a credit lock or credit freeze is in effect, access to your credit file is blocked for purposes of credit checks related to loan and credit applications, but certain entities are still permitted to check your file, including the following:\n*   You (you can always view your own credit report)\n*   Creditors with whom you have a business relationship at the time the lock or freeze is activated\n*   Landlords or rental agencies conducting background checks\n*   Phone companies and utilities\n*   Debt collection agencies trying to collect payments\n*   Child support agencies seeking to set the amount of child support\n*   Lenders and credit companies who have prescreened you for credit offers\n*   Insurance underwriters acting with your authorization\n*   Potential employers you have granted permission\n*   Government agencies acting according to court orders or warrants END