ID Fraud Solution

With all the recent online account hacking there's an ever increasing risk of ID fraud. It's hard to believe the level of neglect and incompetence existing today but we are led to believe it's no one's fault and consumers need to just accept it.

Possibly the best solution is to do a Credit Freeze, aka Security Freeze. You call each of the 3 credit bureaus and have them lock your credit accounts so no one can open a new loan etc in your name. It's suppose to be a 10 min process and $5 to $10 fee. When you need to open a new credit account you can unfreeze/unlock it. You ask the bank etc which credit agency they are using and you call them to unfreeze it. It might take a few mins and again cost about $5 to $10.

Equifax — 1-800-349-9960
Experian — 1‑888‑397‑3742
TransUnion — 1-888-909-8872

By the way, consumer activists say to avoid Equifax's bandaid fraud alert credit service as it's for only a short term (1yr), you waive legal representation, and they've already shown incompetence.

https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0497-credit-freeze-faqs

I just called all 3 numbers and froze my credit. AZ requires a $5 fee; total fee was $15.

Not sure why I would need to pay a fee for someone's incompetence.

I agree. It's a$$ backwards. Especially Equifax. When I called, they all had voice messaging recordings and said they would cover fees if you have documented proof of ID theft. The problem is, that's after someone already opened a credit account in your name. And you would likely be on the hook for the lost money since it's nearly impossible to prove who is responsible for the ID theft.

I thought it was up to the party accepting credit to determine if the transaction was valid. I/E check photo ID and or drivers license. We had someone from another state buy a kayak from Texas using our acct number. We called the bank, the store from Texas called us and refunded the money. I know vendors almost never check anything, but maybe they should.

Your right. Merchants are on the hook for that and credit card companies are pretty good assisting there.

A credit freeze protects against someone fraudulently opening a new credit line, like credit cards or auto loans.

Ok, but seems the same rules would apply. Nevertheless, I understand why you wouldn't want to go through the hassle anyway.