Help protect yourself from identity theft – for free

September 21, 2018

One way to protect your identity is to “freeze” your credit reports. Doing so makes it less likely that an identity thief could open accounts in your name by “freezing” access to your credit report. Previously, you could be charged up to $5 for adding or removing a security freeze, but now, thanks to a change in federal law, the process to add, lift, or remove a freeze is completely free.
 
To place a security freeze, contact each of the three main credit reporting agencies – Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. You can freeze your own credit reports, your children’s credit reports if they are under the age of 16, or the credit reports of someone for whom you’ve been appointed guardianship. 

Another way to protect yourself from identity theft is to place an initial fraud alert on your credit report. An initial fraud alert, which also is free, can make it harder for an identity thief to open accounts in your name because it requires creditors to confirm your identity when applying for credit.
 
Previously, initial fraud alerts stayed on a credit report for 90 days, but now, that time has increased to one year. For victims of identity fraud, an initial fraud alert will last seven years. You can continually renew initial fraud alerts after they expire. 
 
To place an initial fraud alert, contact one of the three main credit reporting agencies. The one you contact is required to tell the other two about your alert.
 
The security freeze and initial fraud alert are two tools that can help protect you from identity theft, but if you believe you have been the victim of identity theft, contact the Ohio Attorney General’s Office at www.OhioProtects.org  or 800-282-0515. The office has an Identity Theft Unit, which helps individuals correct the effects of identity theft, such as clearing fraudulent debt and unauthorized accounts.