Protect Yourself From Credit Card Fraud Add A Security Freeze to Your Accounts

An April 2, 2018 article in Consumer Reports: "How to Protect Yourself From Credit and Debit Card Fraud" offers suggestions on how you can mitigate the effect of data breach where your credit or debit card information is stolen.

The article states "A security freeze placed on your credit file will block most lenders from seeing your credit history. That makes a freeze the single most effective way to protect against fraud."

I wrote about using a credit (security) freeze for privacy and security in February 2018. With the increasing number of data breaches, if you have not added a freeze to each of your credit file, you may want to consider doing so.

CreditCards.com says "I think for anyone who is extremely concerned about the prospect of identity theft, there is no better tool than a credit freeze".

Time Magazine's Money Section says "If you’re looking to lock down your credit in order to keep thieves out, there’s a better way than buying credit monitoring: Simply place a freeze on your credit files. This instructs the bureaus to prevent new creditors from viewing your credit report and score. Because lenders usually won’t open new lines of credit without viewing your score first, this can prevent fraudsters from opening new accounts in your name. Credit monitoring is like shutting the door after the horse has left the barn, whereas a credit freeze is a preventative measure."