Have you locked access to the 3 credit reporting agencies to prevent fraud?
After hearing some horrors stories from my colleagues who were victims of identify theft (people opened accounts under their name and stole money), I decided to lock access to my credit reports. It cost me $10 (one-time fee) for each of the 3 agencies and now no one (except banks, insurance companies and, of course, the government) can view my credit report.
Now no one can open an account under my name since they can’t access my credit reports. The only way I can access my credit report is by temporarily unlocking the block with a PIN (3 different PINs for the 3 different agencies).
With rampart identify theft, doesn’t it make sense to proactivity prevent people from opening accounts under your name and destroying you financially, especially when it’s so inexpensive and easy to lock access to your credit reports?
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13 Answers
No. If it ain’t broke I don’t fix it. haha
IF I were to become a fraud victim maybe, but, I don’t worry about things that haven’t happened.
My credit is so shitty that I feel bad for the person that tries to steal my identity. They will probably be arrested in the lobby of Macy’s for my crimes.
Well..my credit is excellent but I have zero cash. Actually let them steal my identity and I’ll sue the pants off ‘em. Prosecuted to the full extent of Coloma. haha
In my state and a handful of other it appears you have to first be a victim of identity theft in order to lock your credit.
Check if you’re in a state that requires you to already be a victim. If you live in Texas, Vermont, Illinois or Washington, you can freeze your credit only if you have already fallen victim to identity theft or a security breach at your financial institution
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My sister was fucked from the start. When she was about 15 my mom started putting utilities in her name, and credit cards. No clue why Sears would give a credit card to a 15 year old.
My sister had to come up with about 10K to fix the mess. And then a decade later her best friend stole her identity again.
Not locked I need to, I choose one and look at it every 122 days to keep close tabs though.
I plan to do it after I apply for my next mortgage, which will be in a couple of months.
@Coloma WROTE “IF I were to become a fraud victim maybe, but, I don’t worry about things that haven’t happened.”
Do you believe in being vaccinated against Polio? Just wondering.
@johnpowell wrote:
“My credit is so shitty that I feel bad for the person that tries to steal my identity. They will probably be arrested in the lobby of Macy’s for my crimes.”
And if someone can get credit under your name, buys an Internet domain, sets up a web site and distributes kiddie porn (all under your name), then when you’re in prison wondering how in the world could this possibly happen to you? And Bubba, your cellmate, who has little kids on the outside then decides to take an unhealthy liking to you.
But, hey, the guy in Somalia (not Macy’s) who stole your identity doesn’t know and most certainly doesn’t care just how deep Bubba is into you (figuratively and literally). But if he did know, he’d be laughing and laughing. LOL. hahahahaha. LMAO. Nice!
@MadMadMax Well of course, apples and oranges. Just sayin’ that I have never had any issues and so, . possibility vs. probability, but not paranoid.
With all due respect, if you never contracted polio would you then ask for the vaccination – its a bit late after the fact.
Quoting mom: “Closing the barn door after the horse is stolen.”
Seriously this not apples and oranges if you look at the protection he’s talking about. Nobody can see your private information, nobody can steel your identity if you lock down access.
I have seen what people had to go through when their identity has been stolen; lawyers fees, ongoing aggregation regarding new credit, literally over two years to get things straightened out. Why not prevent it?
Like Mom always said “Prevention is worth a pound of cure.”
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