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Credit freezes and fraud alerts: how they compare

· 4 min read

Part of our identity theft and fraud guides. Start with What to do after identity theft: steps from IdentityTheft.gov.

A credit freeze and a fraud alert both help protect you from identity theft, and both are free. They work in different ways, though, and you can use one, the other, or both at the same time.

What a credit freeze does

A credit freeze helps stop identity theft by blocking new credit. While a freeze is in place, nobody can open a new credit account in your name, and that includes you.

Here’s what the FTC says about freezes:

  • Cost: It’s free to place a freeze and free to lift it.
  • Your score: A freeze doesn’t affect your credit score.
  • Who can get one: Anyone, for any reason, even if your identity hasn’t been stolen. You don’t have to wait for your Social Security number to be exposed in a data breach or misused.
  • How long it lasts: Until you lift it.

Placing and lifting a freeze

To freeze your credit, the FTC says to contact all three nationwide credit bureaus:

When a lender needs to check your credit, you can lift the freeze for a while. That might be when you apply for credit or a job, rent an apartment, or buy insurance. Afterward, you can put the freeze back.

The FTC also suggests a way to keep things simple: find out which bureau the lender will use, lift the freeze only at that bureau, and re-freeze when you’re done.

What a fraud alert does

A fraud alert makes lenders verify your identity before they grant new credit in your name. Usually that means a business contacts you first. Unlike a freeze, a fraud alert doesn’t stop businesses from seeing your credit report. And you can have a fraud alert even if you already have a freeze.

There are three types. All of them are free, and for each one you only need to contact one bureau. That bureau must notify the other two.

Initial fraud alert

Anyone who is, or suspects they may be, affected by identity theft can place one. It lasts one year, and you can renew it. When you place an initial alert, you get a free credit report from each of the three bureaus.

Extended fraud alert

This one is for people who have experienced identity theft and have either completed an FTC identity theft report at IdentityTheft.gov or filed a police report. It lasts seven years. To renew it, you’ll need to resubmit your FTC or police report.

An extended alert also takes you off the bureaus’ marketing lists for unsolicited credit and insurance offers for five years, unless you ask them not to.

Active duty alert

This alert is for active duty servicemembers. It lasts one year, and after that you can renew it for the length of your deployment. It also takes you off marketing lists for unsolicited credit and insurance offers for two years, unless you ask them not to.

Separately, active duty servicemembers and National Guard members can get free electronic credit monitoring. To sign up, you contact each of the three bureaus.

Freeze or fraud alert: side by side

  • New credit: With a freeze, no one can open new credit in your name until you lift it. With a fraud alert, businesses can still see your report, but they must verify your identity before granting new credit.
  • Who can use it: Anyone can place a freeze. Fraud alerts are for people affected, or possibly affected, by identity theft, and for active duty servicemembers.
  • How to place it: For a freeze, contact all three bureaus. For a fraud alert, contact one bureau, and it must tell the other two.
  • How long it lasts: A freeze lasts until you lift it. Initial and active duty alerts last one year. Extended alerts last seven years.
  • Cost: Both are free.

Because you can have both at once, you don’t have to pick just one. The FTC’s identity theft guidance notes that you can use a fraud alert even with a freeze in place.

Freezes for children

If your child is under 16, you can ask for a free credit freeze in their name. It stays in place until you ask the bureaus to take it off. The process isn’t the same as an adult freeze, so follow each bureau’s own instructions.

Keep checking your reports

Whichever tool you use, the FTC says to check your credit reports regularly. Accounts you don’t recognize could be a sign of identity theft. You can monitor your credit for free through your free credit reports, and this guide explains how to get your free credit reports.

If you think someone has already used your information, see what to do after identity theft for the steps the FTC lists.

The short version

  • A credit freeze stops anyone, including you, from opening new credit in your name until you lift it. It’s free and doesn’t affect your score.
  • A fraud alert makes lenders verify your identity before granting new credit. It’s free too.
  • To freeze, contact all three bureaus. For a fraud alert, contact one bureau and it must notify the other two.
  • Initial alerts last one year, extended alerts last seven years, and active duty alerts last one year.
  • You can have a freeze and a fraud alert at the same time.

Sources

General information, not legal or financial advice. Laws and government guidance change, so check the sources above for the latest.

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