Freeze Your Credit So Bad People Can't Get It (rhymes)!

Did you know that, as of January 2008, if you're a Maryland resident, you can freeze your credit report with each agency for 5 bucks a pop and as of January 2010 you can do this on-line?

Freezing your credit report means that no one can open up a new line of credit in your name.  So even if someone were to steal your identity they wouldn’t be able to use the information to get lots of shiny new credit cards.


Each state has its own version of this law and you can check out Consumer Union’s web site to get the latest info for your state.   In Maryland it costs $5 to either place a freeze, lift it temporarily or remove it (there’s no fee if you are the victim of identity fraud).

You can still order your free credit report each year, even if your file is frozen.  If you need to remove a freeze, the companies must comply within 3 days after receiving your request.

I’ve recently frozen my credit reports with all three agencies.  Experian and Equifax were both a breeze and requests with these companies took less than 3 minutes each to complete on-line.  Trans Union made me set up a user account so my request with them took a few minutes longer.

BTW, you are entitled to a free credit report from each of the three agencies each year.  eM and I stagger our requests so that we're getting a look at our credit histories throughout the year.

Hope you've found this latest post in the DIY identity protection series useful!  I'm planning one more post in the series focused on passwords.

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