Credit Lockdown Privileges Spread

Major credit bureaus Experian and Equifax on Thursday joined TransUnion and said they will, this year, let people in all 50 states freeze their credit histories.

Experian’s service, which goes into effect Nov. 1, is the latest big victory for anyone who wants to be proactive about preventing identity theft, consumer advocates say.

The decision by all three bureaus to offer national freezes will let consumers lock down their credit histories — especially if they are victims of identity theft. Until now, a patchwork of laws in 39 states allowed consumers, to varying degrees, to protect themselves.

Last month, TransUnion was the first of the so-called Big Three to announce such a service. Equifax (EFX) is scheduled to start its service by early November, company spokesman David Rubinger says. He declined to give any details.

“This is very significant for consumers who live in the 11 states without freeze laws and the four states with limited laws,” says Jeannine Kenney, a senior policy analyst at Consumers Union.

A credit freeze bars the bureaus from issuing your credit history, the summary of loans and payments that forms the basis of your credit score. Because few lenders will issue credit without first seeing a credit score, freezing your information means identity thieves can’t use stolen Social Security numbers to fraudulently open accounts.

Experian says freezes will be free for identity-theft victims. The fee for others is $10 — to freeze and unfreeze credit files — unless a lower fee is mandated by state law, says Maxine Sweet, vice president of public education at Experian. A freeze can be requested by letter and unfrozen by e-mail, phone and letter.

While commending Experian, Kenney says fees should be lower and the process for imposing and lifting freezes easier.

Consumers Union says the fee should be no more than $5 to impose a freeze or temporarily suspend it and nothing to permanently lift a freeze. States with the most consumer-friendly laws typically charge $5.

“At $10 a pop to freeze and unfreeze a credit file with all three credit bureaus, the cost adds up very quickly,” Kenney says.

Experian’s Sweet says the company is not approaching its service as a profit center. “We’re charging a fee for the service to recover our (operating) costs,” she says.

Consumers Union, AARP and other consumer advocates have pressed states the past few years to adopt credit-freeze laws, while facing opposition from lobbyists representing the Big Three.

More than 1 million stolen Social Security numbers are on computer servers controlled by criminals, says Cyveillance, a security firm that crawls the Internet looking for tainted websites.

By Jon Swartz, USA TODAY

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