Credit Freezs vs Credit Lock

[Anonymous]

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@JagerBombs89 wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

Alternatively, consider putting on a free Fraud Alert. You'll need to renew it (free) every 90 days. It offers some protection without the drawbacks of freezing credit, which often costs money to freeze / unfreeze. Thawing temporarily, which may also cost money, can be inconvenient and problematic while a fraud alert is more passive - many card issuers will detect the fraud alert flag and scrutinize new accounts, such as by calling to verify, etc.

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Freeze/thawing can cost around $10 per bureau, per incident, which is quite expensive.  Since I filed for identity theft, mine is free, which is much more convenient.  Instead of me waiting for a creditor to call me, I can just thaw temporarily and get an instant approval/denial without fraud identification.  However, if you have to pay, I would agree that a fraud alert is free and the best route.

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Dont you have to have a police report to place an identity theft on your report(s)?

[JagerBombs89]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@JagerBombs89 wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

Alternatively, consider putting on a free Fraud Alert. You'll need to renew it (free) every 90 days. It offers some protection without the drawbacks of freezing credit, which often costs money to freeze / unfreeze. Thawing temporarily, which may also cost money, can be inconvenient and problematic while a fraud alert is more passive - many card issuers will detect the fraud alert flag and scrutinize new accounts, such as by calling to verify, etc.

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Freeze/thawing can cost around $10 per bureau, per incident, which is quite expensive.  Since I filed for identity theft, mine is free, which is much more convenient.  Instead of me waiting for a creditor to call me, I can just thaw temporarily and get an instant approval/denial without fraud identification.  However, if you have to pay, I would agree that a fraud alert is free and the best route.

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Dont you have to have a police report to place an identity theft on your report(s)?

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Either a police report or FTC complaint on identity theft. 

[Anonymous]

So a fraud alert is free but you said I need a police report so i have to lie to the police (which is a crime) just to get a free freeze. Hmmmm interesting.

[JagerBombs89]

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@Anonymous wrote:

So a fraud alert is free but you said I need a police report so i have to lie to the police (which is a crime) just to get a free freeze. Hmmmm interesting.

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Since I was actually a victim of identity theft, I had already filed a police report.  I did the FTC complaint later and sent a copy of both to the credit bureaus after learning the freeze would be free.  But you didn't ask about my personal background, so if you interpretted my personal situation to tailor to yours and commit fraud (false police report), then you should be prepared to face the consequence once you get caught.

[Anonymous]

Yes your story wasnt complete. No way would i file a false report with law enforcement anyway. I didnt ask about your personal background as it is none of my business.

[paramed3]

I've had a credit file lock on all 3 of my credit files up until today. For like 4 years I have paid 19.99 a month to pull my credit report daily along with a FAKO score as I wanted to or needed the credit report. At that time I did as I was cleaning things up and today stand at 800 threshold. I dropped all 3 last month and with no partial refund all 3 expired this week.

My questions is: one of the main reasons I did this to start using that money to pull TRUE FICO Scores from myfico.com. However after they dropped off or terminated today I feel totally naked as I was able to Credit Lock all 3 reports or files and unlock them with a pin as I needed. I have asked and begged them there has to be a way to lock my reports back without a subscription but NOPE all go into this sales routine and do not want to hear me. They said yea for 10.99 you can lock and unlock but you get nothing with it but that. You get no report pulls like you had and such.

Does anyone know a way to lock your credit files without having to pay for almost 60.00 a month for it ?

I should have asked this a month ago when I dropped them. I sure will enjoy that money and being able now to pull myfico real Fico but I feel exposed with credit files unlocked. It was nice to see my phone go off like a fire alarm when I gave the bank permission to pull my credit. It has not been pulled for a long time. I have 2 HI about to drop off in Dec. 

Lilybee is there anyway ? Does anyone know of anyway to lock them ? Not a fraud alert that is counterproductive I read. Has to be a credit lock Or security alert(lock).

[paramed3]

Credit lock I was able to pull all 3 of mine daily when I wanted to. Not sure about a fraud alert as mine were Credit locks. Also Credit Karma could pull them and Sesame could.  All credit cards that supplied FICO free each month could pull but one would say on the report you have a security lock but because ETC ETC a disclaimer of how they were able to pull it was on it. The only company I could not get to pull was myfico. That is the reason I had to drop my subscription here.  Some months I would pull all 3 credit agencies everyday during the rebuild so it will allow you to pull.

Now my problem is I want to lock mine back and as infrequent I have my credit pulled I want to be able to just pay 10 bucks when I want to open and close it not 10.00 every month.

Any ideas ? I hate to leave all 3 of those open. I have worked my As* for someone to now steal my idenity. OMG I would give up. 

[takeshi74]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Are they one in the same or is there a difference? Also if I freeze (and or lock) my reports can I still access them myself?

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Don't overlook the info on the sites of the CRA's:

https://www.transunion.com/freeze

http://www.equifax.com/help/credit-freeze/en_cp

https://www.experian.com/freeze/center.html

Fees can vary by state.

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@paramed3 wrote:

My questions is: one of the main reasons I did this to start using that money to pull TRUE FICO Scores from myfico.com. However after they dropped off or terminated today I feel totally naked as I was able to Credit Lock all 3 reports or files and unlock them with a pin as I needed.

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Are you looking to just pull scores as needed from myFICO or to get updates and alerts with myFICO monitoring?  For the former you can lift just as you would with credit card applications.  Not sure on the latter.  What FICO's are you not getting from other sources that you need/want?  From what I understand (I don't use it) Ultimate 3B's monitoring updates are just FICO 8's.  Other FICO's are provided on a quarterly basis.

http://www.myfico.com/Products/Products.aspx

An alternative to help mitigate potential fraud is to use a monitoring service that allows for frequent pulls and to carefully monitor your reports for changes.  It is a reactive solution instead of a proactive solution like a freeze but it would help to minimize the impact of fraud.  While myFICO monitoring is trigger based, new accounts are a trigger for all 3 CRA's.

http://myfico.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/463/~/understanding-what-triggers-fico%C2%AE-3-bureau-credit-monitoring-and-fico%C2%AE-identity

Be careful relying on oversimplifations such as "true".  Even with FICO the specific scoring model matters.  If a creditor doesn't use the FICO model that you're relying on then they won't necessarily pull the same number.  Always consider the specific scoring model and CRA when relying on the numbers.

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@paramed3 wrote:

Some months I would pull all 3 credit agencies everyday during the rebuild 

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I'd suggest looking into a CMS that allows frequent pulls when you're looking to do this sort of thing.

[Countingpennies]

Be sure and check the fee charts, as freezing/lifting can be free in different states and over age 65 in some.

I use EIDT/MPM and CCT for monitoring. MPM are fakos, but I get my TU and EQ Ficos from some CCs. MPM does not pull EX if frozen, but does pull TU and EQ. CCT has no problem pulling EX when frozen.

Freezing reports is easy, if there is a fee, it's a one-time charge, not monthly, as far as I can tell.

I recently had a CLI from BoA, they requested my TU pin, which worked fine. About a week later called Synch for a CLI, they asked for my pin and it didn't work. I did a 7-day temp lift on TU and called on all my Synch accounts.

One thing when you freeze EX, they automatically opt you out and don't give you the option to say opted in (I like getting the promos/offers.) After freezing, Imwent to the opt-in page and opted back in, but from what I've read this can take as long as 4 months.

[mitchblue]

Definitely different prices. I've had mine frozen since May, outside a day when I applied for car loan. Being in Arizona, 5 bucks a report. Not free but very managable for piece of mind. I can still see my myfico updates, scores and such. 1 time cost.. Until you perma unfreeze or temp unfreeze.