By PÉRALTE C. PAULThe Atlanta Journal-ConstitutionPublished on: 10/25/07
Consumers nationwide who want to freeze their Equifax credit reports from unauthorized access will have that option starting Oct. 31, the Atlanta-based credit reporting company said Wednesday.
Like TransUnion and Experian, its two main rivals that have made similar moves in recent weeks, Equifax will charge $10 each time a consumer wishes to have his or her credit file frozen or unfrozen. TransUnion began to allow the file freeze option Oct. 15. Experian's takes effect Nov. 1.
Consumers nationwide who want to freeze their Equifax credit reports from unauthorized access will have that option starting Oct. 31, the Atlanta-based credit reporting company said Wednesday.
Like TransUnion and Experian, its two main rivals that have made similar moves in recent weeks, Equifax will charge $10 each time a consumer wishes to have his or her credit file frozen or unfrozen. TransUnion began to allow the file freeze option Oct. 15. Experian's takes effect Nov. 1.
Equifax, which charges $4.95 to $12.95 for a credit monitoring service, will add $2 to the monthly fee to those subscribers who want to add the file-freeze option.
The moves come after several years of consumer advocates lobbying state governments and Congress to give consumers that option to combat identity theft.
Identity theft, which costs victims and businesses about $50 billion a year, occurs when someone obtains loans or conducts other transactions using someone else's personal information.
Consumer advocates have long contended that if credit reports — which contain a person's Social Security number, most recent home addresses, employment and creditors — were frozen, a lender could be alerted to possible fraud.
The moves come after several years of consumer advocates lobbying state governments and Congress to give consumers that option to combat identity theft.
Identity theft, which costs victims and businesses about $50 billion a year, occurs when someone obtains loans or conducts other transactions using someone else's personal information.
Consumer advocates have long contended that if credit reports — which contain a person's Social Security number, most recent home addresses, employment and creditors — were frozen, a lender could be alerted to possible fraud.
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