Back in 2017 you may remember that Equifax had a big security breach. Now we are faced with fraudulent unemployment claims. It can be overwhelming and difficult to figure out how to handle these types of issues and protect yourself. 5 years ago our family was the victim of a home theft that left us the unfortunate victims of identity theft as well. Our personal fire safe was stolen. While it was nice to be protected in case of a fire, it turns out it is very easy for a thief to pick it up and take it with them, complete with our passports, birth certificates and social security numbers. This meant we have first hand experience in learning to lock down our accounts and make sure our family is safe. Since our kids also had their information stolen, we had to do this for them as well. Here is a rundown of our experience. We hope it helps you too.
Protecting Yourself From Identity Theft
What is a security freeze?
A security freeze stops unauthorized access to your credit report. It is federally regulated.
As a result of the Equifax breach a new Federal Law passed that allows this to be free for everyone.
What is a Credit Report Lock?
A credit report lock is similar to a security freeze but is mobile-app enabled.
What is a fraud alert?
A fraud alert places a note on your credit report that alerts companies that you have been the victim of identity them. It’s a red flag to them. In my experience, while the red flag has encouraged some companies to verify additional information, others have not.
What If I Place A Credit Freeze or Credit Report Lock and Need to Unlock it?
When you freeze your credit you are given a unique pin #. This pin # allows you to unlock it as needed. We generally do this over the phone and it takes about 2 minutes to go through the automated prompts. It is very easy. some companies are also moving aware from this and are simply allowing online accounts that allow you to lock and unlock. I have not tried a Credit Report Lock that is not a freeze so I can’t speak to how easy it is using the mobile app.
Note: If you lose any assigned pin #s you do have to go through a lengthy process to retrieve it or get a new one via the mail so make sure you keep good records (SECURE records). Don’t write it on a sticky note on the fridge please.
What About Minors?
Technically minors don’t have credit reports, hopefully. You can ask the credit bureaus to check and make sure your minor child doesn’t have one on file. If not, you can leave it at that. If you’d like to lock the credit reports for minor children (we did!) then you will need to fill out some paperwork to request the lock. The credit agencies will create a file for your minor child and then lock it. Since our children had identity information stolen we felt we should freeze both our kids’ reports. Often times people won’t know that the identity of a child has been stolen because it isn’t common to look and see.
Why Would I Want to Freeze Anything?
We were victims of identity theft which made this a no-brainer for us. If you have not been a victim of identity theft and are looking into freezing your reports it can help prevent an occurrence. Here is the bottom line for me..identity theft is a total pain, a huge amount of paperwork and it can be become a huge financial and legal burden. A credit freeze provides some peace of mind. Also, if you want to make yourself second guess opening up that extra credit card, this can be a great way to keep yourself financially minded as well.
How Do I Do It?
There are three different credit bureaus: Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. You will need to freeze your reports for each person at each of these agencies. (Our family has 4 people so 4 people x 3 agencies = 12 requests)
These sites are pretty good about walking you through what to do and submit.
Adults:
Minors:
- TransUnion
- Experian – Click on “Add Freeze” and then “Add to a minor’s credit file”
- Equifax
Some Tips:
- If you are the victim of identity theft make sure you have your police report or other report available to submit. You may have to submit via mail. I found myself continually making copies so I’d recommend getting a few copies all at once.
- Don’t count on this being over the phone. I have found online ways or via mail to be much less frustrating than dealing with any of the agencies over the phone.
- Be very organized. Very very organized. Keep notes about when you are mailing things and copies for yourself.
- When you submit things via mail include a letter with a numbered list of what you want them to do for you. Example of what I used. Feel free to use this as a template. I found using a specific set of instructions was easier for the agency to decipher and follow. It took 4 attempts for me to have Experian finally freeze my children’s file. They will send correspondence by mail and if something is missing or incomplete in your initial request they don’t keep the initial request so you have to start all over again. Read very carefully what they are requiring. There is a lot of paperwork involved.
- Keep a list of everything you’ve mailed and as you get letters back from the agencies with completion details then check it off the list. We are a family of 4 so that was 12 different requests I was putting in. It started to get really confusing.
- Send freeze requests for each person individually. I wanted to freeze my daughter’s credit and also mine at the same time so I sent it in the same envelope thinking that would cut down on shipping. Don’t. It confused the agency and they froze nothing and just sent me a copy of my credit report.
- A lot of credit cards offer free credit monitoring, so before you purchase anything, check to see what you might already have available to you.
Theoretically, it should be a very quick process if you do it all together, keep yourself organized and send detailed letters with each request. If you are interested in your state’s laws regarding credit freezes you can check out this list.
My personal opinion regarding keeping identity paperwork at home is that you need to keep it in a fire safe that can be securely bolted to the floor. Don’t count on it being “hidden enough.” Lock it down. They can be expensive so if you’d rather you can find a bank near you and get a safe deposit box. This is what we did. It costs $50 a year and we keep everything there – birth certificates, social security cards, passports, etc. When we had to replace passports after our burglary it cost over $500! It isn’t cheap or easy to replace this stuff and the ramifications are long-lasting. Now that our identity information has been stolen and is out in the world there is no telling when it could surface and be used – perhaps years down the road. This is one of the main reasons we opted to do a security freeze.
We have not purchased any software to track our credit, though all the agencies offer it. You can also opt to get an annual free credit report, which is authorized by Federal Law and a great way to keep tabs on your credit.
Bottom Line:
I personally, as a worried mom, recommend it. It is free to freeze your credit and I’m not sure why you would take the chance.
Fraudulent Unemployment Claims
COVID-19 has caused a huge rise in unemployment. As a result, there have been a large number of unemployment claims filed fraudulently. If you have received a notice that a claim has been filed in your name and you did not file the claim, let your employer know. They will need to report the fraud on their end. You will also need to visit your state’s unemployment Website to follow instructions on submitting information on your end as well. Please note that many people are filing claims, and you are likely be frustrated with phone wait times and e-mail response times.
It may be that setting up an account with your state will prevent someone else from doing so even if you don’t file an unemployment claim. Look to see what your state recommends in this case.
Other Resources
If you are interested in paid options for identity theft protection or additional information from the US Federal Trade Commission, here are some resources to get you started:
