#Equifax not lifting my credit freeze password#

In many cases, online access to look up data through these companies is secured by nothing more than a username and password that can be stolen or phished by cybercrooks and abused to pull privileged information on consumers. Via numerous front-end Web sites, each of these mini credit bureaus serve thousands or tens of thousands of people who work in the above mentioned industries and who have the ability to pull credit and other personal data on Americans. My guess is the vast majority of Americans have never heard of most of these companies. The CFPB’s document includes links to Web sites for 46 different consumer credit reporting entities, along with information about your legal rights to obtain data in your reports and dispute suspected inaccuracies with the companies as needed. A handy PDF produced earlier this year by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) lists all of the known entities that maintain, sell or share credit data on U.S. There are dozens of private companies that specialize in providing consumer credit reports and scores to specific industries, including real estate brokers, landlords, insurers, debt buyers, employers, banks, casinos and retail stores. KrebsOnSecurity has for many years urged readers to freeze their files with the big three bureaus, as well as with a distant fourth - Innovis - and the NCTUE, an Equifax-operated credit checking clearinghouse relied upon by most of the major mobile phone providers.

#Equifax not lifting my credit freeze free#

21, 2018 it will be free to freeze and unfreeze your credit file and those of your children or dependents throughout the United States. But thanks to a federal law enacted earlier this year, after Sept. If that accurately describes your views on the matter, this post may well change your mind.Ī credit freeze - also known as a “security freeze” - restricts access to your credit file, making it far more difficult for identity thieves to open new accounts in your name.Ĭurrently, many states allow the big three bureaus - Equifax, Experian and TransUnion - to charge a fee for placing or lifting a security freeze. Maybe you’ve been holding off freezing your credit file because your home state currently charges a fee for placing or thawing a credit freeze, or because you believe it’s just not worth the hassle. Later this month, all of the three major consumer credit bureaus will be required to offer free credit freezes to all Americans and their dependents.