A Credit Lock Vs. Credit Freeze What’s the Difference?
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The Credit Lock and. Credit Freeze What’s the difference?
It’s easier to open your credit than to “thaw” credit freezes. A freeze could provide more legal security.
The article was written by Amrita Jayakumar Writer The Washington Post Amrita Jayakumar is a former special assignments journalist for NerdWallet. She also published a syndicated article on the millennials and money. She also covered personal loans as well as consumer credit and debt. In the past, she worked as an reporter for The Washington Post. Her work was published within the Miami Herald and USAToday. Amrita has a master’s diploma in journalism from the University ofMissouri.
Feb 1st, 2023
Edited by Kathy Hinson Lead Assigning Editor Personal financial, credit scoring, debt and money management Kathy Hinson leads the core personal finance team at NerdWallet. Prior to joining NerdWallet, she worked for 18 years working at The Oregonian in Portland in capacities such as chief of the copy desk and team director of design and editing. Prior experience includes editing copy and news for a variety of Southern California newspapers, including the Los Angeles Times. She received a bachelor’s degree in journalism and mass communications in Iowa’s University of Iowa.
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A credit freeze as well as credit locks are two ways to protect your credit reports against being used by scammers to create new accounts.
There are instances where”credit lock” and “credit freeze “credit freeze” and “credit lock” used interchangeably, and they do provide similar protections. Three credit report bureausthree bureaus namely Equifax, Experian and TransUnion often promote their credit lock services, which can carry the cost of a monthly subscription, along with the credit freeze option, which are completely free. A key difference is that it’s much easier to unlock the credit lock than to “thaw” a credit freeze. However, a freeze can provide legal protections that a lock doesn’t.
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When you check your credit reports with the credit bureaus you limit access to the credit reports so that many lenders are unable to view your information until you unfreeze it. Since it is very unlikely for a lender to open a new bank account under your name without checking your credit, it will protect your identity from fraudulent accounts. It requires a password-protected account or a PIN.
In the same way, the moment you secure your credit you block most lenders access. But you can unlock your credit report at any time, on your device or computer whenever you want to allow access.
Compare the two types of credit freezes: credit lock
When is the best time to apply the credit freeze
A credit freeze helps protect your credit report. It’s a wise choice when you’re the victim of identity theft or believe that your personal information was compromised, as happened in . NerdWallet suggests freezing for the majority of customers as a measure to prevent.
Federal law requires credit bureaus to provide no-cost credit freezes or unfreezes. You can also for free.
You can thaw your credit report through giving the direct authorization to each one of these credit agencies, by using a password-protected accounts or PIN.
The ability to freeze your credit report at all three bureaus is vital to fully protecting your information. Here’s our guide to freezing your report along with your report and report.
You are still able to access your credit records and score even in the event of a credit freeze . If you don’t already have a way to regularly check your report and score you should consider joining NerdWallet to get a summary of your credit report, updated weekly.
When should you use a credit lock
It’s possible to utilize a credit lock as a preventive measure to protect your data or in cases where your information has been compromised. It’s a convenient way to let lenders have access to your report and then immediately secure it once more when you’re looking for a car or home such as.
Unlike a freeze, locks are not governed by federal law. Service agreements between each bureau state that they don’t provide uninterrupted service or fault-free operation.
Like the credit freeze the credit lock is most effective if you sign up at each of the bureaus.
You can enroll for a credit lock at the websites of each bureau, and access the respective app to lock or unlock your report. Each offers a distinct version of credit locks, make sure you know exactly what you’re signing up for.
It is referred to as Lock & Alert. The company claims it’s forever free. The conditions of service do not contain an arbitration clause or settlement of lawsuits in class actions which means that you cannot give up the right to join or sue a lawsuit.
Experian provides its credit lock with other services. The cheapest choice, IdentityWorks Plus at $9.99 per month, comes with a credit lock, identity theft insurance, and alerts whenever information changes in your report across all three bureaus. Its terms of service include an arbitration clause as well as a class action waiver.
TransUnion’s free product, managed under TransUnion’s TrueIdentity brand, provides the option to lock or unlock and various options, however the agreement for service does contain arbitration clauses and a class action waiver. Users must also agree to receive targeted marketing materials.
About the writer: Amrita Jayakumar is a former writer at NerdWallet. She previously worked at The Washington Post and the Miami Herald.
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