Lock your credit?

BigClay

BigClay

Knower of useless ZJ things
Joined
Sep 24, 2008
Location
Winston-Salem
So after a friend of a friend had their identity stolen, they were advised to lock their credit, meaning they cannot open any new accounts with out unlocking it. Has anyone on here ever done that? If so, how difficult is it to unlock?
 
yep, did it a while back. Cheap, easy insurance. Just save all your passwords and keycodes if you ever need to unlock. I think you need to request an unlock a day or three before applying for credit so it has time to go thru the system.

IIRC, all the majors were free, except at the time I did it, one was free if you sent in a written request, they charged a buck or two to do it online. I think they're all free now.
 
Did it last year. I don't use credit cards.

Like he said...keep your password and you can unlock it anytime. Mines easy to remember....same one I use for my luggage
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I have had mine locked since I had my info compromised a couple years ago. It's easy to unlock if you need it, just have to keep your passwords. I just bought a new house. I unlocked them a couple times for 2 days at a time. Then you don't have to worry about it.
 
If you use LifeLock they do it for you, and also send messages to you any time any kind of request, change, anything is made against your file. Pretty slick.
 
RatLabGuy said:
If you use LifeLock they do it for you, and also send messages to you any time any kind of request, change, anything is made against your file. Pretty slick.
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I never understood paying for something you can do yourself. Locking it is too easy.

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justjeepin86 said:
I never understood paying for something you can do yourself. Locking it is too easy.

Sent from my SM-J737A using Tapatalk
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What you're paying for is the constant monitor and ability to approve things immediately (or not). Yes, locking it is easy, but unlocking is not, or at least is much slower. I like that he default is locked but I can approve anything instantly and find out the instant something pings me. Plus free full reports any time, etc. Is it worth it? I don't know, but it made my wife feel better so she signed us up awhile ago, after one of the big Fed GSA hacks.
 
RatLabGuy said:
If you use LifeLock they do it for you, and also send messages to you any time any kind of request, change, anything is made against your file. Pretty slick.
Click to expand...

I have life lock but I didn't think it locked your credit, I thought you still had to do that through each agency.
 
BigClay said:
I have life lock but I didn't think it locked your credit, I thought you still had to do that through each agency.
Click to expand...
They have different tiers, and frankly I don't know the difference between them, or even which one we have. All I know is that any time I have applied for anything, the application is completely blocked from getting any info until I reply to them to OK it.
I literally get a text message with details, and if/once I approve it, it's able to move on and get access.

For instance last November I applied for a Discount Tire Online store credit card to take advantage of a black Friday deal. I filled out the paperwork online, then under a minute later I got a "ding" on my phone showing exactly who was pulling my credit and requesting my approval. It was late and I wanted to test it so I just went to bed. Next day I approved it, and almost immediately I received the email from DTO saying the app had been processed.
Now it may be that they are just doing the same thing for you in the background, which gets paid for via the monthly fees.

EDIT - I don't see anything about this service on LL's site anymore. I'm gonna check and see if it still exists... otherwise it's probably not worth it.
 
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