As part of a good anti-identity theft prevention strategy, the question of whether to freeze your credit must be considered.

Freezing your credit will make it harder for cybercriminals to open a new credit account in your name, but it would also add a few extra steps to accomplish. When you freeze your credit, you must manually unfreeze or "thaw" it with each of the three major credit bureaus whenever you want to apply for a new credit card, car loan, or mortgage.

The process of freezing your credit is not so straightforward, either. It involves signing up for individual accounts with Equifax, TransUnion, and Experian and freezing your credit manually online, by phone, or by mail.

However, the two biggest benefits to freezing your credit are that, first, it is free to do so, and second, you get peace of mind knowing you have neutralized a major tool in identity thieves' playbook.

Freezing your credit is one of the best ways to protect your data and money, but it is not foolproof. Fraudsters and identity thieves might still gain access to your personal information via existing accounts.
Danni Santana, "Worried About Data Breaches? Here's How to Freeze Your Credit Right Now" www.cnet.com (Feb. 05, 2025).

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For additional protection, consider signing up for an identity theft protection service. With an identity theft protection plan, you can monitor your credit, bank accounts, and the dark web for your or your family's personally identifiable data (PII).

Alternatively, you can take advantage of free tools at your disposal. Review your monthly credit card and bank statements. Also, look at your medical claims' history online and at your credit report. You can download your free credit report on AnnualCreditReport.com. Credit monitoring companies like Credit Karma and Credit Sesame can still provide you with up-to-date credit scores.

Here are some types of data cybercriminals seek to access:

• Bank and financial account numbers
• Credit card numbers
• Stock account numbers
• Retirement account numbers
• Loan or line of credit numbers
• Social Security numbers
• PIN numbers
• Login or usernames
• Passwords
• Driver's license numbers
• Health insurance information
• Health records
• Birthdates
• Email addresses
• Personal addresses
• Telephone numbers
• Private images
• Trade secrets
• Customer lists
• Customer credit card and financial account information
• Business plans
• Business processes
• Any other type of financial or other account information