Should I freeze my credit?

This post doesn't really align with my "normal" posts, but hopefully someone finds it useful.

With the recent Equifax data breach, I have seen many posts online where people ask about credit freezing vs. credit monitoring, and what they should do.  Personally this is just one of many times my information has potentially been breached, so I have received monitoring for free many times but in my opinion monitoring isn't enough.

Monitoring is not the same as freezing.  I have had a credit freeze on my account for years.  Remember a freeze restricts access, so if a company can't pull your report chances are they will not issue credit or access against the info.  Think of it this way:

Freeze: Imagine you have a safe, and it is locked.  No one can get in.  So real world, that means even if they know your information when they apply using your social the financial institution will not get anything back from the credit agencies.

Monitoring: You keep the safe open, hoping no one knows where it is.  If someone does find the safe, it is wide open and they can steal what they want.  Sure you have monitoring in place, but all they will say is "hey someone got into your safe and maybe did something".  So real world, if they know your information they can apply for credit in your name and you will find out.

That may not be the best way to explain it, but that is what I came up with.

There are things to consider with a freeze (for example, it might cost money to freeze or temporarily lift the freeze for your credit).  Also, it has caused me problems signing up for certain sites online (when they verify your info against credit agencies) but 1) lifting the freeze fixed the problem and 2) that basically proves it is protecting me.

Personally, I would rather avoid the issue in the first place by freezing my credit.  Ultimately I would suggest each person do the research and make an informed decision.  Good links to read more:

http://clark.com/personal-finance-credit/credit-freeze-and-thaw-guide/
https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0497-credit-freeze-faqs

Credit Monitoring

Additionally, even if you place a credit freeze it is probably a good idea to consider some free monitoring options:

- For Equifax and TransUnion, Credit Karma is a great (free) option
- For Experian someone suggested Credit.com, but I also saw this option ( https://www.experian.com/consumer-products/free-credit-report.html ).

Free Credit Report Info

If you go to this official FTC Government website ( https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0155-free-credit-reports ) it states:

The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) requires each of the nationwide credit reporting companies — Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion — to provide you with a free copy of your credit report, at your request, once every 12 months.

You can go to ( http://www.annualcreditreport.com/ ) to get your reports, or go to the link above for other options such as calling or mailing a request.  Don't Google "free credit report" use the link above, or if you don't trust me use the FTC link above or Google "FTC free credit report" and look for the ftc.gov link.