Consumer data broker National Public Data acknowledged a data breach that may have exposed the names, addresses, Social Security numbers, phone numbers and email addresses of tens of millions of Americans. Though they posted their notice on their site August 12, 2024, the security incident occurred in December 2023.
The NPD data breach may be one of the largest in history, but there have been more than 35,000 data breaches before that, and unfortunately, we can assume more breaches will happen in the future.
In the aftermath, you may be wondering, “Should I freeze my credit?”
Here, we’ll share tools to find out whether your data was leaked in the National Public Data breach, and we’ll also walk through placing a credit freeze with each of the three major consumer credit bureaus, step by step, with screenshots.
But first you have to decide whether you want to freeze your credit reports, and how that may impact you as a business owner.
Why Should I Freeze My Credit? Or Not?
Placing a freeze on your credit report will prevent new companies from accessing your personal credit reports or scores for new applications for credit. It won’t stop all access to your credit reports and scores.
Here’s what a credit freeze means:
- Current creditors may still monitor your credit
- Employment, insurance, phone or utility providers may still be able to check your credit if you open a new account
- Pre-approved or prescreened offers will continue despite a credit freeze
- Debt collectors will be able to access your credit reports
- Government agencies with a permissible purpose such as a court order will be able to get your reports
It also won’t stop other types of fraud such as tax refund fraud, credit card fraud (where someone uses your credit card number to purchase items), and many types of phishing schemes.
In other words, you still need to be vigilant and monitor your financial information closely. A credit freeze is not a golden ticket to protecting yourself against all fraud.
It’s still a good idea to monitor your credit even if you have a credit freeze in place. We’ll talk more about credit monitoring in a moment.
When I was a victim of both personal and business identity theft during the pandemic, I chose not to place a credit freeze on my credit reports. Instead, I placed fraud alerts and monitored my credit reports closely.
However, after discovering that my information (including my Social Security numbers) were part of the National Public Data breach, I decided to freeze my credit reports. What changed? I am not likely to apply for credit in the near future, and I want to test how easy it is to unfreeze my credit if I do.
There are drawbacks to a credit freeze I’ll discuss in a moment, and I may decide to go back to filing fraud alerts in the future. Keep in mind this is my personal experience, and I don’t mean to imply in any way that my approach is the right one for you or your business.
Can I Freeze My Business Credit Too? Should I?
No. You currently cannot freeze your business credit reports with business credit reporting agencies Equifax, Experian or Dun & Bradstreet.
You can place a fraud alert statement on your Experian business credit report. Experian recommends small business owners continue to monitor their business credit report for unusual activity.
What Happens When I Freeze My Credit?
You can freeze your personal credit report with one or more of the major national credit reporting agencies. You must place the credit freeze individually with each credit bureau, and you’ll also unfreeze (or “thaw”) your credit report with each one separately.
If you want to apply for credit with a new company that requires a credit check, you’ll need to remove the credit freeze on a temporary basis. You can also permanently thaw your credit reports if you decide you don’t want or need the freeze.
To unfreeze your credit report you’ll need to log into your account with the relevant account and unfreeze it. While it’s a relatively simple procedure, it’s essential that you keep your login information safe, and then know how and where to access it when you need it.
It’s always smart to use safe passwords, and an encrypted password manager to keep track of them. Since a freeze applies to your personal credit, and not business credit, you should not share your login information with employees or contractors.
Can I Continue Operating My Business With Frozen Credit?
Here’s where it can get tricky. A credit freeze may slow up the process of applying for credit or opening a business bank account.
If you apply for a business credit card, small business loan, or other types of financing, for example, a personal credit check may be involved. A soft credit check may be used to prequalify you or your business for financing, and that may take place before you unfreeze your credit.
But if you want to proceed with your application with a lender that requires a personal credit check, you’ll need to unfreeze your credit.
“A credit freeze can cause certain delays due to the lender not being able to finish the underwriting,” warns Ben Westerman, manager of Nav’s Funding Management Team. This can impact the time between approval and funding.
“Ensuring that your credit is unfrozen once you submit an application would be a good habit to get into,” he adds. Once you know underwriting is complete, “put the freeze back on if you so choose.
How Do I Freeze My Credit?
You can freeze your personal credit with each of the major consumer credit bureaus — here’s how.
How to Place a Credit Freeze With Experian
To initiate a credit freeze, you’ll need to start by providing the last four digits of your Social Security number and a phone number for a text or phone call verification.
The initial sign up page looks like this:
Once you verify the message received, Experian will automatically populate your name, address, phone number, date of birth, and last four digits of your Social Security number.
Confirm that and you’ll be invited to sign up for a free Experian CreditWorkssm Basic account that includes, among other benefits, a Free Experian Credit Report and FICO® Score, Experian credit monitoring and alerts, and access to Experian’s Security Freeze center.
Once your account is set up, it’s simple to place a freeze. Just toggle the button from unfrozen to frozen:
If you do not have access to a computer, call Experian’s customer service line at 1-888-397-3742 (1-888-EXPERIAN) to request your credit freeze.
How to Place a Credit Freeze With Equifax
To place a credit freeze with Equifax, you’ll provide your name and address, date of birth, Social Security number (or ITIN if you don’t have an SSN), mobile phone number, and current address.
Once you’ve authenticated your identity you’ll be able to place a security freeze, fraud alert, or active duty alert.
If you choose to place a freeze, it’s simple and straightforward. Just agree, press the button and your freeze will be activated.
Screenshot from Equifax® website showing frozen status of security freeze, Sept 4, 2024
If you do not have access to a computer, call Equifax at (888) 298-0045 to request your credit freeze.
How to Place a Credit Freeze With TransUnion®
To place a security freeze with TransUnion®, you’ll first sign up to create a free TransUnion® Service Center account, by providing details including your name, address, mobile phone number, email address, date of birth and last four digits of your Social Security number.
Once your account is validated, you can request a credit freeze. The screen to do so currently looks like this:
Screenshot from TransUnion® website showing status of security freeze, Sept 4, 2024
Once you choose “Add Freeze” you’ll initiate the freeze on the next screen:
And once it’s completed you’ll see the confirmation on the next page:
If you do not have access to a computer, call TransUnion® at 1-800-916-8800 to request your credit freeze.
How Do I Know If My Records Have Been Breached?
This data breach occurred in December 2023, and was acknowledged in a statement posted by National Public Data in August 2024.
Currently, there are two sites that help consumers check if their data has been potentially exposed in the breach:
Pentester
This site is offered by Pentester, which offers a service to remove information from data broker websites. You can search by first name, last name, state and birth year.
The site features a warning:
IMPORTANT! Please check previous States you have lived in, and other maiden, or last names.
That warning appears to be accurate, as the addresses that came up for me when I searched were very old.
Atlas Service and Data Dividend Project
You’ll search with first name, last name, and zip code, along with either a Social Security number or phone number.
This site is offered by Atlas Service, which removes information from data broker websites, and the Data Dividend Project, which offers a Settlements Claim Tool to see if you are entitled to compensation from a data breach.
Is There a Cost To Freezing My Credit?
No. You can freeze and unfreeze your personal credit reports with the major credit reporting agencies for free. Credit bureaus and third party services may offer additional services for a fee, but you are not required to pay for a credit freeze.
Given the extent of this recent data breach, you should be very leery of emails or phone solicitations offering to freeze your credit or protect your personal information for a fee. Credit monitoring is legitimate when you are dealing with a reputable service. Watch out for emails that may try to impersonate legitimate companies.
Always carefully look at the email of the sender, avoid clicking on links in suspicious emails, and when in doubt go directly to the website in question or log in using their official mobile app.
Can I Monitor My Credit With a Credit Freeze?
It depends on the service provider. Your credit reports may or may not be accessible if you have placed a credit freeze.
With Nav, for example, you’d be able to access all your business credit information, Cash Flow Health, Nav banking products, and Social Health, with a freeze in place. But you would not be able to access personal credit reports or scores unless you lift the freeze.
If you want uninterrupted access to your personal credit, you may want to consider setting up a fraud alert instead. Placing a fraud alert on your credit reports is free, and will prompt lenders to verify your identity before extending credit, but it won’t lock down your credit reports the way a security freeze will.
You can use it in conjunction with credit monitoring and credit alerts to keep close tabs on your personal credit.
Read: Credit Freeze vs. Fraud Alert vs. Credit Monitoring: What’s the Difference?
Can I Build Credit When It’s Frozen?
You can continue to build credit if your credit file is frozen, but if you want to get new credit accounts to help build your personal credit, you’ll need to unfreeze your credit files first.
Learn how to establish business credit here.
How Nav Can Help
Nav’s financial health platform is built for small business owners to track and improve business credit and cash flow health.
With Nav Prime™, the paid offering, you’ll get business credit scores* and Detailed Credit Reports from two leading business credit reporting agencies: Equifax® and Experian™, along with business credit scores Equifax® Business Delinquency Score® and Experian™ Intelliscore PlusSM V2.
Reports and scores are updated monthly when you log in. If you have credit freezes on your personal credit reports you’ll need to unfreeze them to view updated personal credit reports and scores.
Understand what information companies are reporting about your business, and view both business and personal credit in one dashboard.
In the Credit Health hub, see aggregate trends in your credit, key factors having the most impact on your scores, and keep track of new progress you’ve made.
You’ll also see details on public records, including UCC filings, that can directly and indirectly impact financing or other opportunities.
Nav Prime offers a tradeline submitted monthly to the major business credit bureaus to help you build and maintain a strong business credit history.
*Nav provides access to Experian™ Intelliscore PlusSM V2, Equifax® Business Delinquency Score®, TransUnion®VantageScore® 3.0, and Experian™ VantageScore® 3.0. VantageScore is a registered trademark of VantageScore, LLC.
This article was originally written on September 4, 2024.
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