2Freezing Your Account Deters Identity Thieves
To keep credit safe from identity thieves, it’s possible for any person to freeze it. It’s easy. If anyone wants to extend credit they have to first ask you to unlock your file because you have frozen the information. This method is a strong deterrent to identity thieves because it is highly unlikely that a lender will extend credit to someone without being able to access a credit report first.
Deciding to freeze or not to do so has to do with whether or not you think instant access to credit is worth more than having your personal data vulnerable. You’re the only one who can answer that. But a thief can still abuse your account just by taking a piece of mail, making an address change for you and asking for a replacement card. So freezing your account gives account protection but not necessarily money protection.
