How to Freeze Your Credit at Equifax, Experian, TransUnion

To freeze your credit, you contact each of the three major US credit bureaus separately — Equifax, Experian and TransUnion — and place a security freeze on your file. It is free by federal law, takes about 15 minutes total, and stops most lenders from opening new credit in your name until you lift it. You can do it online, by phone, or by mail.

This guide walks you through each bureau, what you will need, what a freeze does and does not do, and the practical steps to take after the freeze is in place. We are Getshure, a plain-English US publisher that writes about scams and online safety — so we will also tell you where our book and app fit in, and where they do not.

What a credit freeze actually does

A security freeze locks your credit file at a bureau. When a lender tries to pull your credit to approve a new loan or card, they get blocked. No pull, no new account. That is why a freeze is one of the best defenses against someone opening credit in your name.

A few things a freeze does not do, so you have realistic expectations:

• It does not stop charges on cards you already have.
• It does not stop scam calls, texts or phishing emails.
• It does not remove your data from the internet or from data broker sites.
• It does not affect your credit score.
• It does not stop existing creditors, debt collectors, or certain government agencies from seeing your file.

You can lift the freeze temporarily (called a "thaw") any time you need to apply for a card, a loan, an apartment, or a new cell phone plan. Lifting is also free and usually takes effect within an hour online.

Before you start: what you will need

Gather these so you can get through all three bureaus in one sitting:

• Your full legal name, current address, previous addresses from the last two years, date of birth, and Social Security number.
• A government-issued ID (driver's license or state ID).
• A utility bill, bank statement or similar proof of address if you freeze by mail.
• An email address you actually check — the bureaus will send a PIN or confirmation.
• A safe place to store the PIN or account login each bureau gives you. You will need it to thaw the freeze later.

A password manager, a locked notes app, or a paper notebook in a drawer all work. Just do not email the PINs to yourself in plain text.

How to freeze your credit at Equifax

Online (fastest)

1. Go to equifax.com and look for "Credit Freeze" or "Place a Security Freeze."
2. Create a myEquifax account using your email and a strong password.
3. Verify your identity by answering questions about your credit history (old addresses, loan amounts, etc.).
4. Click "Place a Freeze" on your Equifax file.
5. Save the confirmation. You can thaw the freeze later by signing back into the same account.

By phone

Call Equifax at 1-800-685-1111. Follow the prompts for a security freeze. Have your personal information ready.

By mail

Send a written request with copies (not originals) of your ID and proof of address to Equifax Information Services LLC, P.O. Box 105788, Atlanta, GA 30348-5788. By law, Equifax must place the freeze within three business days of receiving your request.

How to freeze your credit at Experian

Online

1. Go to experian.com and find the "Credit Freeze Center."
2. Choose "Add a security freeze."
3. Enter your personal information and verify your identity.
4. Experian will issue a PIN. Save this PIN. You will need it to thaw or remove the freeze later unless you create an account to manage it online.

By phone

Call Experian at 1-888-397-3742. Follow the automated menu to request a security freeze.

By mail

Send a written request with ID and proof of address to Experian Security Freeze, P.O. Box 9554, Allen, TX 75013.

How to freeze your credit at TransUnion

Online

1. Go to transunion.com and look for "Credit Freeze."
2. Create a TransUnion account.
3. Verify your identity.
4. Toggle the freeze on. You will manage it through the same account going forward.

By phone

Call TransUnion at 1-800-916-8800.

By mail

Send your request with ID and proof of address to TransUnion, P.O. Box 160, Woodlyn, PA 19094.

Don't forget the two smaller bureaus

Most identity thieves go through the big three, but lenders also check specialty bureaus. If you want full coverage, add freezes at:

• Innovis — a smaller credit bureau. Call 1-800-540-2505 or visit their site.
• ChexSystems — used by banks when you open a new checking or savings account. Call 1-800-887-7652.
• NCTUE — used for cell phone and utility accounts. Call 1-866-349-5355.

These three add maybe 20 minutes total and close the back doors a determined thief might try.

How to lift (thaw) a freeze when you need credit

When you apply for a new card, a mortgage, a car loan, or anything that needs a credit pull, ask the lender which bureau they use. Then thaw only that bureau. You can thaw for a set number of days, or until you refreeze manually. Both are free.

1. Sign into your bureau account (or use your PIN).
2. Choose "Temporarily lift freeze."
3. Pick a date range, or lift for one specific creditor.
4. After you are approved, refreeze — or let the thaw expire automatically.

Check your credit reports once a year — for free

Freezing is prevention. Checking is detection. Once a year (or more often if you suspect fraud), pull your free reports from all three bureaus at annualcreditreport.com. This is the only federally authorized free site. Look for:

• Accounts you did not open.
• Addresses that are not yours.
• Hard inquiries from lenders you never contacted.
• Collections you do not recognize.

If you see something wrong, dispute it with the bureau in writing and report identity theft at identitytheft.gov, which gives you a personalized recovery plan.

A quick checklist

• Freeze at Equifax, Experian and TransUnion.
• Save each bureau's PIN or account login in a safe place.
• Freeze Innovis, ChexSystems and NCTUE if you want full coverage.
• Set a yearly reminder to pull your free reports from annualcreditreport.com.
• Freeze your kids' credit too — a child's file is a common target. See our guide to child identity theft.
• If you already see fraud, start at identitytheft.gov.

The book that explains the bigger picture: "Don't Get Screwed by AI"

A credit freeze is one piece of a bigger picture. The real question is: how did the thief get your information in the first place? Usually it is a mix of old data breaches, data broker profiles, phishing texts, and — more and more — AI-powered scam calls that sound exactly like a real bank or family member.

Our hardcover "Don't Get Screwed by AI" ($29) walks you through the current playbook in plain English: what AI scams look like today, how your personal data ends up for sale, the specific red flags on calls and texts, and the checklists to run once a year. It is written for ordinary adults, not tech people. Keep it on the kitchen counter and hand it to your parents.

Ships free in the continental US on orders of $40 or more, usually arrives in 3–5 business days, and is backed by our 30-day money-back guarantee.

Where the Getshure app helps after the freeze

Once your credit is frozen, the next weak spots are your phone and your personal data on the open web. Our Getshure app, which comes with every Getshure protection plan, is built for exactly this: On Android, get the Getshure app on Google Play; on iPhone, use the download link in your GETSHURE order email.

• Breach check — see whether your email or passwords show up in known data breaches, so you know which accounts to clean up first.
• Data broker removal — sends opt-out requests to people-search sites so your name, address and phone get harder to find. Each site decides when to remove, but the requests go out for you.
• Scam Shield — identifies likely scam and spam callers, helps block robocalls, and lets you look up an unknown number before calling back.
• Private vault — an encrypted space for sensitive photos and documents like IDs or insurance cards, locked by Face ID or passcode.
• Phone security score — one screen that tells you what to fix on your phone next.

No app blocks every scam or every leak, including ours. What a protection plan does is cut the work you have to do by hand and give you one place to check instead of ten.

Pricing and what you should know before you order

• New plans start at $9.99, $29.99 or $79.99 today depending on the plan, then $29.99 every 30 days until you cancel. We email a reminder about 3 days before each renewal.
• Cancel in one step at any time at getshure.com/cancel, from the link in any Getshure email, or by calling us at (754) 812-1679 weekdays 9 AM–6 PM Eastern.
• 30-day money-back guarantee on every plan charge, renewal and add-on — no reason needed. See our refund policy.
• We are MetaWise Enterprises, LLC, a Delaware company (file number 10336625), based in Coral Springs, Florida. You can verify all of that before you order — see Is Getshure Legit?

Related reading

• Your Data Was in a Breach: What to Do Next
• How to Check if Your Email or Password Was Leaked
• How to Remove Your Personal Information From the Internet
• Identity Theft: What to Do, Step by Step With IdentityTheft.gov

Next step

Freeze your credit today at all three bureaus — it is free and it takes about 15 minutes. Then, if you want the rest of the work (breach checks, data broker removals, scam call screening) handled in one place, order "Don't Get Screwed by AI" or start a Getshure protection plan. Questions first? Call us at (754) 812-1679 or email contact@getshure.com. We answer with a real person.