Freeze Your Credit to Prevent Identity Theft

Identity theft continues to escalate. With almost 8000 people in Georgia, USA, being affected in 2005, steps are being taken to thwart the menace. One way to help do this would be for consumers, such as you and me, to place a freeze on their credit information. This would only be sensible if, of course, those people did not wish to take any additional credit at that moment in time.

An immediate effect would be that of preventing anyone opening a credit account for that person whether legally or not until the freeze was lifted. This could cause some irritating problems as an open credit account is needed for mortgages, loans, credit card applications, bank account initiations and home rentals. However, this proposed method could give some relief to a fair proportion of citizens who would otherwise fall victim to identity theft.

Identity theft, a crime virtually unheard of a few years ago, can devastate individuals, families and even communities. One way to attempt to combat such crime is to give consumers control over their own credit history and access to personal data.

It comes at a cost of course. It has already become law in certain states, but credit control agencies may look for compensation for the extra work they will need to do to freeze and un-freeze credit accounts. Also, it could be inconvenient for the individual consumer who needs credit immediately but who finds that it may take several days, or more, to lift a former freeze. Luckily, the scheme is in its infancy, and when the idea spreads it is likely to become a process that is more accepted and, therefore, more streamlined.

For further information and resources on identity theft, internet crime and online security visit the New Identity Theft website operated by Eric Hartwell.

Freezing Your Credit File - Does It Really Protect You From The 5 Forms Of ID Theft ?
If you live in any of these states New Jersey, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Nevada, Nth. Carolina, Sth. Dakota, Texas, Utah, Washington, and Wisconsin- then you have the right to place a security freeze on your credit file to try to protect yourself from Identity Theft. A security freeze simply means th...

Preventing Identity Theft
Unfortunately, one of the growing trends in todays society is identity theft. Identity theft can happen to anyone and while most identity theft happens online due to hacking, there are dozens of situations where personal information was lost or stolen by a third party. If you are a victim of identity theft your credit rating can suffer. Here are...

How to Prevent Identity Theft - How to Fight Identity Theft
Identity theft is one of the fastest growing crimes in the world and so it is vital that everyone learn how they can prevent identity theft. In this article we will be covering a couple of tips that you can use to fight identity theft and protect yourself.The first step in order to prevent identity theft is being aware of it and how it can happen. ...

How to Restore your Credit Card Score after Identity Theft
Credit card identity theft where your credit card is stolen, your PIN is stolen or someone opens another credit card in your name, can all be particularly damaging to your credit score. Unfortunately a credit score isnt so easily restored but there are a couple of things you can do to make the best of the situation and restore it as much as possibl...

A Serious Look At Identity Theft Prevention For You
Do you use identity theft prevention measures? If not, you may want to start. Identity theft is one of the fastest growing crimes of this century and more than 10 million people find themselves a victim of it annually. The vast majority of this is simply not being cautious with who they share their personal information with.If you discover that you...

My Lifelock Review of the Identity Theft Protection Service
The numbers are staggering, every 3 seconds someone becomes another victim of identity theft. With the threat of identity theft growing day by day,Identity theft protection services like Lifelock have become quite popular. Lifelock is a company that promises to prevent identity theft from happening. The question is, does it work?How does Lifelock p...

Protecting Yourself From Identity Theft - Ultimate 7 Tips For Avoiding ID Theft
The first thing you have to keep in mind to prevent identity theft is the power your personal information gives the thief.A thief can use your social security number, credit card number, password, PIN, etc. to make transactions under your name, which can cost you both hard-earned money and a lot of time trying to fix the damage. So, dont give them ...