Consider Freezing your Credit to Stay Safe

   Data breaches are happening all the time now.  It seems at least once a month, another company has been pwned and all their data... well, all our data, is now on the World Wide Web for everyone to see.  While many of us do everything in our power to keep our information safe, the companies we trust (or are forced to trust for whatever service they provide that we need) aren't taking it as seriously.  One of the worst types of damage that can happen on a personal level is identity theft.

   I've worked hard all my adult life to build up good credit and as breaches continue, I worry when someone will try to steal my identity and ruin what I've taken years to build up to where it is now.  I worry because I've heard many horror stories of what other people have had to go through when their identity was stolen.  I'm fortunate I've haven't had to deal with that.  I did find a way to keep myself safe though, and you should consider doing the same.

   What finally convinced me to get off my lazy butt and get a credit freeze was Brian Krebs' article.  I've read articles before his about setting up a credit freeze, and for whatever reason, I never felt inclined to do anything.  What also made it hit home was the Anthem data breach.  That one got me motivated because my current employee recently moved from Anthem and we were effected by that breach. I didn't want to wait to become a victim, I wanted to prevent it.  I finally went through the process of setting up my credit freeze.

   The good news is that the process is so easy, there is no reason why you should have an excuse not to do it, unless you open up new lines of credit every day.  Both Brian Krebs' article and this one by Lifehacker walk you through the process and provide the information you need to get to where you need to go to setup the freeze.  I did this one weekend a few months back for both my wife and myself.  Overall, it took 20 minutes and it cost me $30 to freeze both of our credits on all three agencies.  You can either call in or do it online, and the process gives you a pin.  Make sure you store that pin in a safe place!  That pin is what you'll use to either unfreeze or thaw your credit when you actually need it.

   I felt so much better after I went through the process because even if my information is floating around (alright, it probably is) the World Wide Web, I can sleep better at night knowing that I won't worry about someone trying to impersonate me to take money.  I've also mentioned this process while I'm holding annual Information Security training at the bank I work for.  To get your credit frozen and provide peace of mind, either click or call each of the agencies below.

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

   And as always, stay safe goblins.

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About Jimmy R. Tassin

Jimmy Tassin is the IT Manager of Midwest Regional Bank and has been involved with the Technology field for over thirteen years. His two hobbies are overseeing the daily operations of OmniKraft, a Minecraft server community, and writing at Goblinbyte.com.