How To Freeze Your Credit for Free ?

Identity theft is at an all-time high, with the number of victims growing 8% to 16.7 million Americans in 2017 according to Javelin Strategy & Research. The amount stolen hit $16.8 billion last year, according to Javelin.

Given the sobering stats, many Americans are wondering if placing a freeze on their credit is the best way to protect themselves from identity theft—others are understandably concerned about the cost.

Currently, the fees and requirements for adding and removing a freeze vary by state. You have to contact all three major credit bureaus—Experian, Equifax, and Transunion—separately to freeze your credit files, and each firm has different fees for this service.

While a security freeze is designed to prevent credit from being approved in your name without your consent, the alert may delay the approval time of any pending applications made regarding a new loan, credit, mortgage, or even rental housing. If you are actively seeking credit, try to plan ahead in order to lift a freeze before actually applying so your application process isn’t slowed down.

One alternative to freezing your credit is Experian CreditLock, which is a benefit that comes with your Experian CreditWorksSM or IdentityWorksSM membership. Experian CreditLock “locks” your credit report, so that potential creditors can’t access your credit file.  But when you need credit and want a lender or other business to have access to your credit report, you can simply unlock your credit report from your Experian app.

But if you’re convinced freezing your report is the way to go, the good news is there are some circumstances where you can get a credit freeze for free.

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You can obtain a free credit freeze (also known as a security freeze) based on the current laws in your state, the circumstance in which you may need to place a credit freeze, and your age.

In many states, if you submit a valid investigative or incident report (FTC Identity Theft report), complaint with a law enforcement agency (such as your local Police department) or the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV), the fee will be waived. Some states waive the fee if you are older than 65 or younger than 16. Fees may also be waived if you an active member of the military as well.

Make sure to check as each state has different additional protections that entitle you to a free security freeze, including:

You are the spouse of an identity theft victim or suspect you or your spouse are a victim of identity theft and requires an identity theft report.
Your passport was stolen.
You are older than 65 years of ages (62 in some states).
You are under the age of 16 (18 in some states).
You are under 16 years of age and incapacitated or for whom a court or other authority has appointed a guardian or conservator.
You are under 16 years of age and in a foster care setting.
You are an active military member.
You are a victim of domestic violence.

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There are a few ways to get documentation when you are the confirmed victim of theft so you can get your free freeze, including:

Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Identity Theft Report: visit IdentityTheft.gov and the site walks you through the steps to take depending on your situation (reporting identity theft, reporting tax fraud, etc.).
Police Report: if you are the confirmed identity theft victim, you can file a police report with your local police department.
US Postal Service Report: if you are the victim of mail theft or mail fraud, you can file a mail theft complaint.


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Be aware that certain fees may apply for placing and removing a credit freeze. You can initiate a freeze, lift a freeze when it’s no longer needed or thaw your credit depending on the actions you may need to take. Here are some more details:

Freezes are permanent or last for seven years, depending on your state.
You can decide to thaw frozen credit temporarily or remove the freeze whenever you choose.
Situations where you may decide to thaw or unfreeze your credit include when you need to apply for specific credit applications or loans.
There are other situations when frozen credit cannot be accessed by another party including when you need to rent an apartment, purchase a cell phone, or process employment verification.


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If you’re looking for an alternative to a credit freeze, consider a fraud alert. Although a fraud alert won’t shut off complete access to your credit like a freeze does, it will tell anyone who runs your credit that they should check with you before opening a new account. Initial fraud alerts are free but they end after 90 days unless you extend them.

Depending on the state and the manner in which you placed the credit freeze—meaning if one of the special situations described above does not apply to you—then you may have to pay a fee to thaw your credit each time.  Again make sure to check your state laws to see if or when you can receive a freeze for free.

Shrewd shoppers know their credit score influences their capacity to get an advance, their home loan rates, credit card endorsements, and even an occupation or lodging application. So it's a decent budgetary propensity to survey your credit report and score much of the time – for exactness and to distinguish ways you could enhance your score, if vital.

It's conceivable to buy access to your credit reports, scores and observing administrations through every one of the enormous three credit-revealing organizations – Equifax, Experian and TransUnion – yet these can include strong month to month charges, and "free preliminaries" frequently have murky fine print. Government law orders that everybody has the privilege to one free credit report from every organization at regular intervals, in the event that you ask for it. (You need to apply through AnnualCreditReport.com, the official credit-report site, and your score is excluded in the free bundle.)

Credit Karma, a San Francisco– based organization established in 2007, has shaken things up by offering free progressing access to your credit scores and credit reports from TransUnion and Equifax. You join with creditkarma.com, yet don't need to enlist a credit card as you frequently should with the expectation of complimentary preliminaries on different destinations.

Once you're a part, you can track your credit as regularly as you like. Credit Karma additionally gives free online devices and data to enable you to comprehend your score, with particular activities, in view of your profile – say, lessen your credit use or enhance your on-time installments – that you can take to enhance it.

Why Make All This Free?

Credit Karma has made straightforwardness vital to its plan of action: "The organization was established with the conviction that purchasers ought to approach their information for nothing," as per a representative. "All things considered, it is their information, and they're judged by it in about each feature of their lives."

Another piece of the mission is helping individuals comprehend their own money related wellbeing. "Scores were worked for loan specialists and analysts," Credit Karma author and CEO Ken Lin calls attention to. "Buyers were not the target group." Credit Karma expects to demystify credit for the normal individual.

So What’s the Business Model?

Since Credit Karma is a revenue driven business, not a philanthropy, how can it profit? Rest guaranteed, it's not from offering the data you share with a specific end goal to get your credit reports from its site. As per the depiction on the organization site, its incomes originate from custom-made, directed promoting by money related organizations on creditkarma.com. Its plan of action depends on finding a win for everybody – the shopper, the budgetary foundations that promote items and Credit Karma's own particular primary concern.

Credit Karma has in excess of 80 million individuals as of April 2018, the most as of late accessible measurement. It can do strong investigation and utilize calculations to choose pertinent promotions to particular individuals. To budgetary publicists, this implies the site can all the more likely match them with buyers who will probably utilize their administrations. In light of concurrences with its budgetary promoting accomplices, Credit Karma gets paid for this lead age.

Here’s How it Works