Freezing?

New year, new chance to think about ways to protect yourself from identity theft. What’s one way? Freeze your credit.

You don’t have to wait for your Social Security number or other information to be exposed in a data breach — or misused by an identity thief — to benefit from a credit freeze.

Here’s how a credit freeze can protect you: it stops lenders from getting into your credit report. Because lenders usually won’t give you credit if they can’t review your credit report, a freeze can help stop would-be identity thieves from opening new accounts in your name.

Some more things to know:

• Anyone can place a credit freeze, they’re free to place and lift, and they don’t affect your credit score.
• To place a credit freeze, contact all three credit bureaus: Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion.
• Credit freezes last until you lift them. So if someone needs to check your credit — like if you’re applying for a new credit card or a car loan — you’ll need to contact all three bureaus again. (Or if you know which bureau a lender will use, you can lift for only that one. For free.)

You may have also heard about fraud alerts, which are another useful tool against identity theft. Learn about the difference between credit freezes and fraud alerts here.

Finally, if you think someone’s stolen your identity, go to IdentityTheft.gov to report what happened and get an individualized recovery plan with next steps.