--- title: Freezing Your Credit Can Protect You Against Identity Theft, but Few Consumers Take Advantage description: Only 3% of consumers have frozen their credit after receiving a data breach notice, even though doing so can help prevent identity theft. authors: - name: Mallika Mitra role: Contributing Editor url: https://money.com/author/mallika-mitra/ bio: Mallika Mitra is a contributing editor for Money, based in Chicago. She has covered investing and retirement for seven years and her work has appeared in CNBC, Bloomberg, Kiplinger, AARP, Barron’s, Bankrate, The Daily Upside, ETF.com, The Bond Buyer, PLANADVISER, PLANSPONSOR and Investopedia. education: Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY Kalamazoo College at_money_since: 2020 articles: 395 covers: - Identity Theft - Banking - Business - Career Advice - Credit - Credit Cards - Debt - Economy and Politics - Education - Health and Wellness - Housing - Insurance - Investing - Lifestyle - Loans - Mortgages - Personal Finance - Pets - Professional Services - Retirement - Shopping - Taxes - Technology also_seen_in: - CNBC - Bloomberg - Kiplinger - Barron's - Bankrate - WGN-TV - CBS News Radio - This Morning With Gordon Deal - Everyone's Talkin' Money social: - https://twitter.com/mitra_mallika - https://www.linkedin.com/in/mallika-mitra-4577a386/ published: '2021-12-17T18:45:56.000Z' modified: '2024-10-08T15:47:10.000Z' section: Identity Theft tags: - News word_count: 496 canonical: https://money.com/credit-freeze-misunderstanding-survey/ type: NewsArticle source: structured-blocks --- > **Disclosure:** We research all brands listed and may earn a fee from our partners. Research and financial considerations may influence how brands are displayed. Not all brands are included. [Learn more](https://money.com/page/disclaimer/). ![Credit Card frozen inside an ice cube](https://img.money.com/2021/12/News-What-Is-Credit-Card-Freeze.jpg) If you're not sure why or when to freeze your credit, you're not alone. While more than three-fourths of consumers said they were familiar with the [credit freeze](https://money.com/how-to-freeze-your-credit/) process, 71% have never actually used this crime prevention tool, according to a [recent survey](https://www.idtheftcenter.org/post/new-identity-theft-resource-center-research-shows-consumers-know-about-credit-freezes-but-rarely-use-them/) published by the Identity Theft Resource Center (ITRC). The biggest reason consumers reported for not freezing their credit was because they didn't think it was necessary. To a lesser degree, some respondents (11%) avoided putting their credit on ice because they mistakenly believed it will impact their credit score or that they'll have to pay to freeze or thaw their credit. Of the 73% of consumers who believed their personal information had been impacted by a data breach, only 3% froze their credit after receiving a [data breach](https://money.com/what-is-data-breach/) notice, the survey found. ## Having your identity stolen may come at a high cost ### With Aura in your corner, you'll have the proper software to protect your every online move. Nowadays, we all need Identity Theft Protection. Find yours by clicking on your state below. [View Plans](https://money.com/pr/gd041a90dab2?ap_referrer=%2Fcredit-freeze-misunderstanding-survey%2F) “A credit freeze is generally considered the most effective tool to prevent new accounts from being opened in your name," Eva Velasquez, President and CEO of the ITRC, said in a press release announcing the survey results. The online survey took place last summer and covered 1,050 U.S. adult consumers. Here's what to know about freezing your credit: ## What is a credit freeze? Putting a freeze on your credit halts access to your credit report, so bad actors won't be able to open a new credit account in your name. They're completely free. The process also blocks you from opening up new accounts. But don't worry if you want to apply for [a new rewards credit card](https://money.com/best-rewards-credit-cards/) or other type of credit — you can lift the freeze temporarily to do so, the [Federal Trade Commission explains](https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/what-know-about-credit-freezes-and-fraud-alerts). ## When should you freeze your credit? Hackers just won't quit. By the end of September, the number of publicly reported data compromises in the U.S. had [already surpassed](https://money.com/data-breaches-2021-record-high/) the total number of compromises in 2020 by 17%, according to the ITRC. By now, you may be familiar with the notifications companies send out when they've been breached, like the note the popular trading app [Robinhood](https://money.com/how-to-use-robinhood-beginners/?ref=/robinhood-data-breach-whos-affected/) sent to users last month when millions of people had their emails or full names exposed, and around 310 had their birthday and zip codes exposed [in a data breach](https://money.com/robinhood-data-breach-whos-affected/). If you are notified that [your data has been compromised](https://money.com/best-identity-theft-protection/) — or if you [lose your wallet](https://money.com/lost-wallet-what-to-do/?ref=/how-to-freeze-your-credit/) — it's a good idea to protect your information by freezing your credit so that criminals can't use the stolen information to open a new account in your name. ## How to freeze your credit You can implement a credit freeze by contacting the three major credit bureaus: Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. The FTC has contact information for each bureau [here](https://www.identitytheft.gov/#/CreditBureauContacts). Money also has [an entire guide](https://money.com/how-to-freeze-your-credit/) to freezing your credit, and how to determine if it makes sense for you. ### Includes VPN & password manager ![View Plans](https://s3.consumersadvocate.org/prd/image/image/29035/medium_031b14e8-19d0-4ec7-b6f0-04e29d54e75a.png) Our Partner [View Plans](https://money.com/go/1be6b6c302f6?bidid=4066777161&pmeta=p129-c590-u23759&ptid=666073625&ptoken=ee3673f932afc806e414e50d82adf9c1) ### Up to $3 million identity theft coverage ![View Plans](https://s3.consumersadvocate.org/prd/image/image/39939/medium_816cde44-5301-4dd1-928e-e57e6d76a40d.webp) Our Partner [View Plans](https://money.com/go/801295e28686?bidid=4066777155&pmeta=p129-c590-u23759&ptid=666073625&ptoken=873b4c0933adb0ef621484db043de636) ### Comprehensive 3-bureau monitoring system ![View Plans](https://s3.consumersadvocate.org/prd/image/image/22930/medium_1cbc8db8-3f08-443a-9212-ffc20f3572c5.png) Our Partner [View Plans](https://money.com/go/5fc45ebffa10?bidid=4066777159&pmeta=p129-c590-u23759&ptid=666073625&ptoken=65e475a76f032f542973cc426ad62717) ### Over 40 years of experience in the field ![View Plans](https://s3.consumersadvocate.org/prd/image/image/29533/medium_0d1a7abe-469a-4c92-bc75-b14db9a97c71.png) Our Partner [View Plans](https://money.com/go/cadf096d0e8c?bidid=4066777157&pmeta=p129-c590-u23759&ptid=666073625&ptoken=416b06e2e96ecaf09cec2220e70654fc) ![View Plans](https://s3.consumersadvocate.org/prd/image/image/39603/medium_19e58401-022f-4bdc-bc08-ac1e419ddcdf.webp) [View Plans](https://money.com/go/27393baabf98?bidid=4066777165&pmeta=p129-c590-u23759&ptid=666073625&ptoken=592d7a53b33a310c1aa1443557c92711) ![](https://s3.consumersadvocate.org/prd/image/image/29035/medium_031b14e8-19d0-4ec7-b6f0-04e29d54e75a.png) Protect yourself from the threat of Identity Theft with Aura [View Plans](https://money.com/pr/ce5c60e9ca63?ap_referrer=%2Fcredit-freeze-misunderstanding-survey%2F) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "@id": "https://money.com/credit-freeze-misunderstanding-survey/#breadcrumb", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://money.com" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Identity Theft", "item": "https://money.com/identity-theft/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Credit Monitoring", "item": "https://money.com/credit-monitoring/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Freezing Your Credit Can Protect You Against Identity Theft, but Few Consumers Take Advantage" } ] }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://money.com/#website", "url": "https://money.com", "name": "Money", "publisher": { "@id": "https://money.com/#organization" } }, { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://money.com/credit-freeze-misunderstanding-survey/#webpage", "url": "https://money.com/credit-freeze-misunderstanding-survey/", "name": "Freezing Your Credit Can Protect You Against Identity Theft, but Few Consumers Take Advantage", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://money.com/#website" }, "datePublished": "2021-12-17T18:45:56.000Z", "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://money.com/credit-freeze-misunderstanding-survey/" }, "inLanguage": "en-US", "breadcrumb": { "@id": "https://money.com/credit-freeze-misunderstanding-survey/#breadcrumb" }, "dateModified": "2024-10-08T15:47:10.000Z" }, { "@type": "NewsArticle", "headline": "Freezing Your Credit Can Protect You Against Identity Theft, but Few Consumers Take Advantage", "articleSection": "Identity Theft", "image": [ { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://img.money.com/2021/12/News-What-Is-Credit-Card-Freeze.jpg", "width": 2574, "height": 1716, "caption": "News-What-Is-Credit-Card-Freeze" } ], "author": [ { "@type": "Person", "name": "Mallika Mitra", "url": "https://money.com/author/mallika-mitra/", "@id": "https://money.com/author/mallika-mitra/#author", "description": "Mallika Mitra is a contributing editor for Money, based in Chicago. 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