How to freeze your credit at all three bureaus

If you do one thing this month to protect yourself from identity theft, freeze your credit. It takes a few minutes at each bureau, and it costs nothing.

What a freeze does

A credit freeze stops new lenders from seeing your credit report. Since almost no one will open a new account without checking it, a freeze makes it much harder for anyone to open credit in your name, including you, until you lift it.

It does not change your credit score, and it does not affect the accounts you already have.

The rules that make it easy

Under federal law:

• It is free to freeze and to unfreeze.
• If you ask online or by phone, the bureau must place the freeze within one business day.
• If you ask online or by phone to lift it, the bureau must lift it within one hour.
• A freeze lasts until you remove it.

You have to do all three

There are three credit bureaus, and each keeps its own file. A freeze at one does nothing at the other two.

• Equifax: equifax.com/personal/credit-report-services, or 800-685-1111
• Experian: experian.com/help, or 888-397-3742
• TransUnion: transunion.com/credit-help, or 888-909-8872

Each may ask you to create an account or give you a PIN, which you will need to lift the freeze later. Keep it somewhere safe at home, and write down where you keep it.

When you need credit

Applying for a loan, a credit card or a new phone contract? Lift the freeze at the bureau the lender uses (ask them which), or lift all three for a few days. Then put it back. Write down the date you lifted it and the date you froze it again.

Freeze or fraud alert?

A fraud alert is different. It asks lenders to check it is really you before opening an account. You only need to contact one bureau, and it tells the other two. An initial alert lasts one year. If your identity has already been stolen, an extended alert lasts seven years. A freeze is stronger; you can have both.

While you are there

You can check your own credit reports for free at AnnualCreditReport.com, the only official site for free reports. Look for any account you don't recognize.

Write down the date you froze each bureau. You will not remember it in three years.