A consumer credit reporting agency claimed in one of its findings that approximately 143 million people in the country have fallen victim to online hackers. Such criminals steal personal information such as names, date of birth, residential and office addresses, credit card numbers, emails IDs, and even Social Security numbers This statistic nearly accounts for half of the population of the country.

How to secure your credit
The best form of defense to this problem is to know how to freeze your credit. Although it can be considered as an extreme move, it is better to be safe than sorry.

A major advantage of a credit freeze is that a person’s credit score is not at risk of declining.

Credit bureaus
Certain credit bureaus such as TransUnion, Innovis, and Experian can be contacted through mail, online, or over the telephone as well in the case you wish to freeze your credit. Calling them would be the most ideal, but the in-person process reduces the chances of scammers trying to circumvent your request. It is also due to the fact that the credit bureau will ask for personal information such as the name and a photocopy of a valid identity document such as passport, address proof, and so on. For the victims of identity theft, documents such as a police report and DMV report may come in handy when they need to be submitted.

Taking no more than 3 business days to be completed, locking and unlocking a credit freeze must be done smartly, especially by those who are financially active or insecure in their dealings.