Lock Your Credit Report Experian

Also known as a security freeze this free tool lets you restrict access to your credit report which in turn makes it more difficult for identity thieves to open new accounts in your name.

Lock your credit report experian. Locking your credit is a procedure that can help prevent identity theft and credit fraud by blocking access to your credit report. Placing a security freeze on your credit report prohibits us from releasing any information in your credit report without your express authorization except to those with whom you have an existing account or a collection agency acting on behalf of the existing account for purposes of reviewing account maintenance monitoring credit line increases and account upgrades and enhancements or. If you want the ability to lock and unlock your experian credit report on the fly from your smartphone or experian app without a pin or a waiting period experian creditworks sm or experian identityworks sm members can do that through experian creditlock. A credit lock also known as a security lock has the same result as a credit freeze but it s easier and quicker to lock and unlock your credit than to freeze and un freeze or thaw it.

To lock your experian credit report press and hold the lock icon on the experian creditlock home page. Once experian receives the information the security freeze will be added to the minor s credit file within 3 business days. Just like a credit freeze creditlock will prevent potential lenders from accessing your. Experian s program creditlock is offered as part of a larger service experian creditworks sm premium.

That s because most creditors need to see your credit report before they approve a new account. It costs 4 99 the first month and 24. A creditor opens an account using a report from one of the other major credit bureaus that you have not locked or applied a security freeze. How to lock your credit report at experian.

The request can be mailed to experian security freeze p o. When your experian credit file is locked new accounts may still be reported to experian and posted to your experian credit file if. Press and hold the icon again to unlock your report. What is a credit freeze.

If you want to apply for new credit or a new employer or landlord needs to run your credit you can temporarily unlock your credit report just as easily. Another alternative to freezing your experian credit report is to lock it. Even if your state does allow a fee to be charged for freezing or unfreezing your credit it will likely still be a cheaper option than signing up for experian s lock service which requires a.