CREDIT FREEZE Click on the links to get there quick. Experian, TransUnion, Equifax One of the best tools you can have in your arsenal to help protect you from Identity Theft is a Credit Freeze.  When they go out for the day or when they go to bed at night, most people lock their doors.  If you are not using your credit reports, maybe you should lock them up. The three major credit reporting companies, TransUnion, Experian and Equifax, allow you to freeze your credit reports. Let me explain. Whenever you go to borrow money or open a line of credit, the first thing the lender does is to pull a copy of your credit report and your credit scores to help determine if they will loan you the money. If you have placed a Credit Freeze or Security Freeze on your reports, the three major reporting agencies will not release your reports to anyone. So.....if someone has stolen your personal information and is trying to use your identity to open a credit card account or to take out a loan in your name, they will have a very difficult time. How much does all this cost, you ask?  In Massachusetts, at this time, it costs $5.00 per company, or $15.00 total. The credit reporting companies will provide you with a "Personal Identification Number" which will allow you to remove the freeze. You can lift the freeze for a week, a month or permanently if you like. After the time has expired, the freeze goes back on.  If you need to borrow money or open an account for yourself, you will need to unlock your Credit Freeze. The cost, at this time, is $5.00 per company or $15.00 for all three. So....if you are not planning on buying a home, buying a car, opening a new credit card account or some other activity that might require an investigation of your creditworthiness, maybe this is a good idea for you. The only down side I have encountered is when I go to pull my free credit reports, I cannot do it over the internet. I have to call them on the phone. (You are entitled to a free copy of your credit report every year from the three big guys. I like to pull one report every four months. That way I get a snapshot of my credit every four months.) Bill Morgan, CBR "The Hat Guy"