 TITLE: How to Lock Your Credit CONTENT: When Should I Lock My Credit?\n-----------------------------\nIf you know or suspect your Social Security number or other personal identification information has been exposed in a data breach, consider locking or freezing your credit. A credit lock may be preferable if you plan to apply for loans or credit cards in the months and years ahead and want the ability to block and enable access to your credit files on demand.\nAs long as credit fraud and identity theft remain causes for concern (and they won't be going away anytime soon), using credit locks is a good precautionary move as well.\nBy blocking access to your credit files, credit locks give you the same benefits as credit freezes in terms of pre-empting creation of new loan accounts in your name, but with a greater degree of personal control and convenience. END