• May 7, 2026 Security by The Cat

    Identity Theft

    There's a lot to cover here, and it all applies as both preventative measures, as well as remediation if you find out that you've already had your identity stolen.


    PLEASE BOOKMARK, PRINT, OR SAVE THIS PAGE SO YOU CAN COME BACK HERE WHEN YOU'RE FREAKING OUT AFTER IT'S HAPPENED TO YOU.


    Freeze your credit


    Legitimately, do this now. Don't think too hard about it, just do it now.


    There are 3 credit bureaus in the United States: Equifax, Experian, and Transunion. They all collect a boatload of information about everybody in the US and anything you do or any factor about you that may affect whether your creditworthiness. Then banks ask them for a report about you whenever you apply for a mortgage, car loan, credit card, etc. This helps them make informed decisions about whether they should approve you and what interest rates or loan amounts they'll be willing to give you.


    The privacy implications of these credit bureaus and their goings-on are not the point of this piece.


    The point, however, IS that you can (and should) freeze your credit report from being accessed by any banks NOW. When your credit is frozen, banks can't access your credit report if you (or someone pretending to be you) applies for a loan or credit card. Therefore, they will 100% deny the application. You can use this to your advantage by keeping your credit frozen 99% of the time, and only unfreezing it when you know you're about to apply for a credit card, mortgage, or car loan (or any other type of loan).


    Soooo if someone gets ahold of your name, social security number, and address, and they want to use that information to make some money, they will likely try to open up a credit card (or multiple) in your name and using your credit score. They can do it online, no one even has to see their face. They'll use the credit card to buy whatever they want, and you'll be saddled with the bill.



    "But those would be fraudulent charges then. I should be able to argue them and have them taken off, right?"

    - You, with a hopeful tone in your voice




    Man, I hope so. But do you really wanna roll the dice on that? Wouldn't it just be better to try and prevent it from ever happening?




    Okay, but how on earth do I even do that?

    - You




    Easy. You can do it online. You have to set up an account with each of the 3 credit bureaus, and once you do you will be able to start a credit freeze on-demand at any time just by logging in.


    Here are the links to set up a credit freeze account with each credit bureau. You can also use these same links to log in and unfreeze your credit in the future.



    If you're freaking out in the future and can't remember the link to this page, just open your search engine of choice (Google, DuckDuckGO, etc.) and enter the name of the credit bureau followed by the words "credit freeze". Double-check that you're clicking on a safe link, and it'll take you to the same place as the links above.


    Example searches:


    • "equifax credit freeze"
    • "experian credit freeze"
    • "transunion credit freeze"

    Go through each bureau's account setup process, and if prompted to turn on Two Factor Authentication TURN IT ON. See the page about it on this site for more info about that stuff.


    Once you have your account set up, freeze your credit by clicking a button that usually is called Manage Freeze or something similar.


    Good job! You've now taken a big step towards protecting yourself against identity theft, or helping to at least curb it if you're reading this after you've already fallen victim.




    Okay great... But now I can't apply for credit cards? What about when I need a new car?

    - You, frightened that I have led you astray




    That's the neat part, you can easily unfreeze your credit whenever you want. And when you unfreeze it, it takes effect pretty much instantaneously.


    ALSO, all 3 credit bureaus offer the ability for you to temporarily "thaw" your credit for whatever number of days you choose. So you can literally be sitting at a car dealership, finalizing a deal to purchase a vehicle, and log into your 3 credit bureau accounts right then and there to thaw your credit. Set it to only thaw for the current day, maybe tomorrow too if you're feeling frisky, and it will AUTOMATICALLY re-freeze once that time period has passed. And within a few seconds, the sales dude can run your credit without issue.


    The point of all this? You get to use your credit and identity when YOU want with minimal fuss, but anyone else trying to impersonate you will have a much harder time. As I said earlier, don't wait, don't think about it. Just do it. You're not applying for credit cards and taking out loans daily, you'll be fine.