Have you noticed that listener calls to the show about ID theft have dropped off versus a year ago? Christa speculates it's because people don't have as much credit to steal anymore!
Clark would like to believe the drop in calls is because his listeners have embraced his advice and frozen their credit. But he knows better! So a few word about the virtues of a credit freeze are in order.
When you put a freeze in place, it does
not affect your current use of credit. You are simply issued a secret PIN from each credit bureau that prevents a criminal from opening up new lines of credit in your name -- even if they steal your identity.
The PIN can also be used to temporarily "thaw" your credit so that legitimate applications for credit and services can be processed.
The cost to freeze your credit ranges from free to $10 per bureau, depending on your state. So when you multiply that by 3 credit bureaus, you could pay anywhere from zero to $30 in total.
Victims of identity theft can have any fees waived, and seniors are often exempt from the fees in most states.
People often wonder why the credit bureaus aren't more gung-ho about people freezing their credit. After all, they
do make money from the process. But it turns out that the money they make is puny to them. They'd prefer to make the big bucks by creating a dossier on you that they can later sell.
When you freeze your credit, however, the credit bureaus can't sell your info anymore.
