topic Re: Any advantage in locking all credit bureaus? in General Credit Topics

Any advantage in locking all credit bureaus?

Superduper2014 — Tue, 01 Sep 2020 16:07:00 GMT

Hey guys.

If I am not going to be applying for credit anymore or credit line increases. Is there any advantage to locking all 3?

What could I be needind un unlocked file besides new credit or line increases?

Besides being more of a chore to do, is it really worth it?

I wonder how lenders look at this when they do their behind the scenes spying on you to see what's up with your credit files

Would this help during these times of COVID in any way, let's say, it indicates to them that we are not applying for more lines or they have no access to even doing a SP for regular checkups when credit files are locked?

Thoughts? thanks a lot

Re: Any advantage in locking all credit bureaus?

Anonymous — Tue, 01 Sep 2020 16:18:27 GMT

Locking or freezing (I recommend a freeze instead of a lock) can prevent fraud because it blocks all inquiries for new credit but it won't stop existing lenders from being able to SP if they code it as an AR.

I have all three of my bureaus on ice again. It does block credit.com from being able to give me my credit score which I don't really care about and I have to remember to lift the freeze when I go to ask for CLIs from Synchrony (which I won't be doing anymore) so that the SP isn't bounced (they don't code them as AR, neither does Comenity) and sometimes there is a 10-15 minute delay during which apps can get declined after I put in a lift but it does act as a barrier to me being able to just go impulse app since it takes a bit of time to lift the freezes in addition to blocking fraud attempts.

Re: Any advantage in locking all credit bureaus?

M_Smart007 — Tue, 01 Sep 2020 16:20:51 GMT

I keep mine locked, to make sure the fraudsters do not open anything in my name.

Also some years back, someone had tried to buy a car in my name.

They had successfully pulled my credit report (while unlocked). but never got the car.

I think @Jnbmom , just dealt with something pretty crappy. She might chime in. (sorry for what your going through Mom)

I lock EX through EX paid, and TU/EQ through TU basic bare minimum paid.

(I have found this to be the easiest method, at least for me)

It seems like fraud keeps getting worse .. around every corner.

@AnonymousMight chime in also, as to why He locks His.

Re: Any advantage in locking all credit bureaus?

AllZero — Tue, 01 Sep 2020 16:23:52 GMT

@CreditInspired wrote:
Freeze your credit with Equifax, Experian and TransUnion

Credit Bureau Online By phone By mail
Visit: Equifax Credit Freeze page 1-800-685-1111 (NY residents call 1-800-349-9960) Equifax Security Freeze, P.O. Box 105788 Atlanta, GA 30348
Visit: Experian Credit Freeze page 1-888-EXPERIAN (1-888-397-3742) Experian Security Freeze, P.O. Box 9554 Allen, TX 75013
Visit: TransUnion Credit Freeze page 1-888-909-8872 TransUnion LLC, P.O. Box 2000
Chester, PA 19016

I found this on https://clark.com/credit/credit-freeze-and-thaw-guide/

Re: Any advantage in locking all credit bureaus?

Anonymous — Tue, 01 Sep 2020 16:33:21 GMT

@M_Smart007 wrote:
I keep mine locked, to make sure the fraudsters do not open anything in my name.
Also some years back, someone had tried to buy a car in my name.
They had successfully pulled my credit report (while unlocked). but never got the car.
I think @Jnbmom , just dealt with something pretty crappy. She might chime in. (sorry for what your going through Mom)

I lock EX through EX paid, and TU/EQ through TU basic bare minimum paid.
(I have found this to be the easiest method, at least for me)

It seems like fraud keeps getting worse .. around every corner.

@AnonymousMight chime in also, as to why He locks His.

lol I was a bit quicker than you getting the post out

Re: Any advantage in locking all credit bureaus?

M_Smart007 — Tue, 01 Sep 2020 16:36:18 GMT

I typed to slow

Had a phone call.

Re: Any advantage in locking all credit bureaus?

Girlzilla88 — Fri, 04 Sep 2020 16:35:56 GMT

@Superduper2014 I keep mine locked too it also helps me to NOT do uneeded pulls for curiousity sake XD SP or Not it's just a habit I want to keep so I can only app for what's important and keep my information protected in the meantime. [Mod cut: This discussion is not allowed on the myFICO Forums. - KiB] YMMV but I like them NO TOUCH xD

Re: Any advantage in locking all credit bureaus?

Superduper2014 — Fri, 04 Sep 2020 16:37:01 GMT

@Girlzilla88 wrote:
@Superduper2014 I keep mine locked too it also helps me to NOT do uneeded pulls for curiousity sake XD SP or Not it's just a habit I want to keep so I can only app for what's important and keep my information protected in the meantime. [Mod cut: This discussion is not allowed on the myFICO Forums. - KiB] YMMV but I like them NO TOUCH xD

Thank you all for your giving me your opinions on this! I will look into doing this for fraud prevention and [Mod cut: This discussion is not allowed on the myFICO Forums. - KiB]

Re: Any advantage in locking all credit bureaus?

Jnbmom — Tue, 01 Sep 2020 22:00:18 GMT

I just locked all mine . I received a debit card in the mail this card is usually used to receive unemployment benefits and I am still employed thank goodness however this is one of the latest fraud going around 😡so now I have to keep close eye as someone has my info apparently 😡😡

Re: Any advantage in locking all credit bureaus?

boosnark — Tue, 01 Sep 2020 22:17:38 GMT

A good compromise is to place a fraud alert, which will instruct the lender to contact you if someone tries to open an account under your name. It will usually last for a year (renewable).

Re: Any advantage in locking all credit bureaus?

CramEiko — Tue, 01 Sep 2020 23:49:40 GMT

I keep all mine locked or frozen. I saved the websites to my Bookmarks so that I can access them quickly if needed. When I do unlock them I do a temp unfreeze for a predetermined length of time. I do this just incase I forget to lock them back up. Works like a champ. TU says that they will unlock in 15 min from time of reguest but I usually give them (all 3) 1/2 day or so just to make sure they are unlocked. No problems here as far as lenders.... I've had mine frozen like this for the past 4-5 years, whenever Congress passed the law making it free to lock and unlock your credit as you see fit at any time you want. Previously I think all 3 charged $** to lock and unlock.....

Good luck!

Re: Any advantage in locking all credit bureaus?

Tonya-E — Wed, 02 Sep 2020 01:22:20 GMT

I haven't locked but I have kept all of mine frozen for many years now. Initially I did it to keep myself from making any decision on impulse. The extra step gave me time to think before proceeding with an app. I found that most of the time the extra step made me change my mind, lol. Now I just keep them frozen for security. It gives me a bit of peace of mind.

Re: Any advantage in locking all credit bureaus?

Anonymous — Wed, 02 Sep 2020 02:27:48 GMT

I also have a freeze on ChexSystems. You really don't want some crook opening checking accounts in your name and passing bad checks. 😜

Re: Any advantage in locking all credit bureaus?

CramEiko — Tue, 08 Sep 2020 12:11:48 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
I also have a freeze on ChexSystems. You really don't want some crook opening checking accounts in your name and passing bad checks. 😜

Where do you find access to this? Can you lock and unlock any time?

Re: Any advantage in locking all credit bureaus?

Tonya-E — Tue, 08 Sep 2020 12:45:50 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
I also have a freeze on ChexSystems. You really don't want some crook opening checking accounts in your name and passing bad checks. 😜

This was a great idea. I just froze that too. Thanks for the info!

Re: Any advantage in locking all credit bureaus?

Curious_George2 — Wed, 09 Sep 2020 03:28:38 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
I also have a freeze on ChexSystems. You really don't want some crook opening checking accounts in your name and passing bad checks. 😜

This is a fine thing to do, but let's not oversell the benefit. I opened checking accounts with four institutions this year (Chase and the three CU's in my sig) and only one of them pulled ChexSystems. It's easy for bad actors to find FI's that don't pull Chex.

Credit Bureau	Online	By phone	By mail
	Visit: Equifax Credit Freeze page	1-800-685-1111 (NY residents call 1-800-349-9960)	Equifax Security Freeze, P.O. Box 105788 Atlanta, GA 30348
	Visit: Experian Credit Freeze page	1-888-EXPERIAN (1-888-397-3742)	Experian Security Freeze, P.O. Box 9554 Allen, TX 75013
	Visit: TransUnion Credit Freeze page	1-888-909-8872	TransUnion LLC, P.O. Box 2000 Chester, PA 19016