 TITLE: How to Freeze Your Credit CONTENT: What Is a Credit Freeze?\n------------------------\nA credit freeze, also known as a security freeze, is a tool designed to help protect you from fraud and identity theft. It limits access to your credit report unless you lift the freeze, or \"thaw\" your credit. Having a freeze in place won't affect your credit scores, but it will prevent your credit report from being accessed to calculate scores unless you first lift the freeze.\nFreezing your credit can help prevent identity thieves and other criminals from using stolen personal information (your Social Security number, for instance) to apply for new credit in your name. Since checking your credit report and credit scores are typically the first steps in processing any credit application, freezing your credit at the national credit bureaus (Experian, TransUnion and Equifax) can help stop unauthorized credit accounts from being opened.\nThe major drawback of credit freezes is that, along with preventing unauthorized credit applications, they also block authorized checks. This can complicate legitimate applications for loans, credit cards and other things because you'll need to unfreeze your reports before the process can move forward.\nYou must contact each national credit bureaus individually to freeze (or unfreeze) your credit reports. They'll do so for free upon request. END