{"id":3786,"date":"2022-03-10T15:40:30","date_gmt":"2022-03-10T21:40:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dev.pirg-test.com\/texas\/resources\/little-secrets-to-easily-freeze-your-credit-files-by-phone-or-online-2\/"},"modified":"2023-03-03T06:03:06","modified_gmt":"2023-03-03T12:03:06","slug":"little-secrets-to-easily-freeze-your-credit-files-by-phone-or-online-2","status":"publish","type":"resource","link":"https:\/\/dev.pirg-test.com\/texas\/resources\/little-secrets-to-easily-freeze-your-credit-files-by-phone-or-online-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Little secrets to easily freeze your credit files by phone or online"},"featured_media":11356,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":false,"_yoast_wpseo_opengraph-title":"","_yoast_wpseo_opengraph-description":"","_yoast_wpseo_twitter-title":"","_yoast_wpseo_twitter-description":""},"campaign_tax":[184],"display_option":[],"issue_tax":[],"resource_type":[90],"region_tax":[],"state":[2],"topic_tax":[151],"class_list":["post-3786","resource","type-resource","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":{"details":{"helper_taxonomies":{"topics":[151],"collection":false,"press_type":false,"person_type":false,"resource_type":90,"event_type":false,"campaigns":184,"department":false,"level":false,"states":[2],"act_option":false,"display_option":false,"primary":{"topic":151}},"subtitle":"","excerpt":"You have two primary options for freezing your credit files with the three major credit bureaus. You can do it by phone or online, whichever you\u2019re more comfortable with.","featured_image":11356,"caption_override":"","updated_on":null,"sidebar_action":"","related_event":"","hide_hero_image":false,"location":"internal","external_link":{"publication_name":"","url":""},"file":null,"sidebar_action_query_string":""},"helper_people_group":{"title":"Authors","entities":[{"type":"dynamic","dynamic_person":{"site":16,"people":"128"},"information":{"name":"","image":"","role":"","biography":"","contact":{"twitter":"","facebook":"","email":"","phone":""}}}]},"helper_downloads":{"title":"Downloads","files":null},"page_layout":[{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_wysiwyg","_acfe_flexible_toggle":"","component_wysiwyg":{"content":"

You have two primary options for freezing your credit files with the three major credit bureaus. You can do it by phone or online, whichever you\u2019re more comfortable with.<\/p>\r\n

Below are instructions for doing it by phone. Here\u2019s\u00a0a link to a U.S. PIRG staffer\u2019s\u00a0step-by-step account<\/a>\u00a0of freezing her files online<\/a>\u00a0for the first time.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

To freeze your credit files by phone:<\/strong><\/h4>\r\n

Experian: 1-888-397-3742<\/strong><\/p>\r\n

TransUnion: 1-888-909-8872<\/strong><\/p>\r\n

Equifax: 1-800-685-1111<\/strong><\/p>\r\n

Before you embark on your freeze journey, you should make sure you are ready. You can do all of these through the automated operator; you don\u2019t need to talk to a live person. Here are some important tips:<\/p>\r\n1, Don\u2019t try<\/strong>\u00a0to multi-task. It\u2019s not difficult to freeze or thaw your files. But you shouldn\u2019t do it while you\u2019re watching TV or cooking dinner. You need to focus and follow the prompts in a timely fashion. You should be able to complete all three bureaus in 15 to 20 minutes if you don\u2019t make mistakes or miss your prompts and need to start over.\r\n\r\n2. Have a pen<\/strong>\u00a0and paper next to you.\r\n\r\n3. Have ready<\/strong>:\r\n

    \r\n \t
  • \r\n

    Your full legal name<\/p>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t

  • \r\n

    Your current address<\/p>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t

  • \r\n

    Your Social Security number<\/p>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t

  • \r\n

    Your date of birth (numerically, i.e. June 2, 1980 is 06\/02\/1980.<\/p>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t

  • \r\n

    Your cell phone number. (The bureaus sometimes send a text to confirm.)<\/p>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t

  • The date you want your freeze to start (generally not today) and end.<\/li>\r\n \t
  • \r\n

    A six-digit PIN. Think of this ahead of time. For now, TransUnion requires you to generate your own six-digit PIN. Don\u2019t make it something like your birth date or any part of your SSN or phone number or address.<\/p>\r\nHonestly, consider writing down the numbers ahead of time to have everything in front of you. It\u2019s easy to get flustered when the computer voice prompts give you only a few seconds to enter your information.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n

    4. Don\u2019t get confused<\/strong>\u00a0or talked into a fraud alert or a lock. You want a FREEZE.<\/p>\r\n

    5<\/strong>.\u00a0Don\u2019t have your phone<\/strong>\u00a0on speaker. The computer often picks up background noise and proceeds as if you gave a wrong response. Or it hangs up on you. This is extremely frustrating. (At least one of the credit bureaus recommends you not use a cell phone. That\u2019s unrealistic, though, considering about half the adult population has only a cell phone \u2014 no landline or VoIP line.<\/p>\r\n

    6.<\/strong>\u00a0Don\u2019t get talked into<\/strong>\u00a0identity theft monitoring or any paid service. You don\u2019t need a credit or debit card to freeze or thaw your file. If you get asked to enter payment information, you\u2019ve traveled down a rabbit hole.<\/p>\r\n

    7<\/strong>.\u00a0If you freeze your file<\/strong>, make sure you keep your records of your PINs\/passwords in a secure but handy place, like wherever you keep your Social Security card, passport, birth certificate, etc. It can be a pain to try to thaw your files if you can\u2019t find your PIN.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

    Thawing your files:<\/h4>\r\nHere\u2019s what I experienced while thawing my files temporarily. As with the information above, I recommend you write out the dates when you want your freeze to be lifted or thawed and when you want them frozen again. You can\u2019t choose today\u2019s date. So your date to thaw them might be 03\/10\/2023 and the end date might be 03\/31\/2023.\r\n

    Also, you should build a bit of a buffer. If you\u2019re planning to buy a car and apply for a loan Thursday, for example, start the thaw tomorrow and leave the files unfrozen for maybe a week or two, not just one day.<\/p>\r\n

    Like with the initial freeze, sometimes you need to enter the pound key (#) after your entry. Sometimes you don\u2019t. Just pay attention.<\/p>\r\nExperian \u2014 It took 3 minutes:<\/strong>\r\nYou need your PIN. For Experian, I got messed up initially because the PIN number Experian mailed me years ago was 15 digits long. But the first five digits were zeroes. I couldn\u2019t remember whether those zeroes counted as digits or not. They don\u2019t count. After it didn\u2019t go through the first time, I used just the 10 digits after the zeroes.\r\n

    Even with that hiccup, the thaw took a total of only three minutes.<\/p>\r\n

    TransUnion \u2014 It took 2 minutes:\r\n<\/strong>You may need your PIN. TransUnion was a breeze. Initially, you must tell the automated operator what you want by saying \u201cfreeze.\u201d It took a mere two minutes to thaw the credit file by phone.<\/p>\r\n

    Equifax \u2014 It took 7 minutes:\r\n<\/strong>Equifax is the most cumbersome by phone, but you don\u2019t need any PIN. The introductory message talks about the 2017 data breach settlement and your options for obtaining your credit report at no charge.<\/p>\r\n

    The automated menu takes you through this maze of choices. It\u2019s thorough but takes a while to slog through it. If you\u2019re doing it by phone, it will text you a code in real time that you\u2019ll have to enter to verify your identity.<\/p>\r\n

    You need four pieces of information: Your phone number (preferably a cell), your Social Security number, the numeric portion of your address and your ZIP code.\r\nThawing the file took seven minutes. You can get the confirmation sent to you by text and mail if you\u2019d like.<\/p>","":null}}],"site_specific_content":""},"yoast_head":"\nLittle secrets to easily freeze your credit files by phone or online<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"You have two primary options for freezing your credit files with the three major credit bureaus. 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