Ever since I saw that guy on TV, Todd Davis, freely broadcasting his social security number (457-55-5462 by the way), confident in the fact that nobody could steal his identity, I’ve been obsessed with the idea but too cheap to sign up for the service.
Just today, however, I got a notice from one of my credit card companies informing me that one of the merchants I recently purchased something from had experienced a security breach, and now it was possible that someone had my name, credit card number, and security code. The letter also mentioned something about putting a fraud alert on my credit report or freezing it to prevent identity theft.
Well, that was enough to kick my paranoid brain into high gear. I immediately headed to my computer and googled “freeze credit report.” I found a great article on Bankrate.com entitled “Identity stolen? Freeze your credit report” that contains a link to a chart of states where legislation has been passed to allow people to freeze their credit reports for free. Bingo! My state, Indiana, was in the list!
I went back, googled “indiana freeze credit report,” and found a link to a PDF called “Security Freeze Information” containing complete instructions on how to freeze my credit report with the three credit reporting agencies. All I had to do was write a letter and send each agency the following:
- My request for a freeze
- My name
- My former name was (if applicable)
- My current address
- My former address, if I moved in the past 5 years
- My social security number
- My date of birth
- Photocopy of a government-issued identity card (I used my driver’s license)
- Proof of residence such as a utility bill or phone bill (I used my electric bill)
Then, all I’d need to do is send the letter and copies of my two supporting documents to the following addresses:
Equifax Experian Security Freeze
P.O. Box 105788
Atlanta, GA 30348
Experian Security Freeze
P.O. Box 9554
Allen, TX 75013
Trans Union Security Freeze
P.O. Box 6790
Fullerton, CA 92834-6790
I fired up my word processor, penned the three letters I needed and printed them out all with matching envelopes. I then made copies of my driver’s license and electric bill. Of course, I couldn’t leave my wife’s identity unprotected, so I wrote and printed letters for her, too, complete with envelopes fully addressed.
I was so proud of myself.
As soon as I had completed everything, I showed it to my wife and explained how this whole credit report freeze thing worked. I could see in her eyes that she wasn’t buying into it. It was just too convoluted for her to wrap her brain around. She couldn’t perceive the need for it, or maybe she just thought I was a paranoid idiot. At any rate, when I was done speaking, she grabbed one of the envelopes I had already stuffed, waived it in the air and said:
“What I’m afraid of is someone getting hold of this envelope, complete with my name, social security number, and driver’s license number. I may as well just hand the person my purse!”
I wanted to smack her, but I have to admit, she made a good point. Here I was with a stack of envelopes addressed to Trans Union SECURITY FREEZE, Experian SECURITY FREEZE, Experian SECURITY FREEZE (hmmmm, I wonder what these envelopes could possibly have inside them) containing the most sensitive data about me and my wife, and I was about to drop these in a mailbox to send then across several states to companies packed with employees I’ve never met!
Well, I always suspected that maybe my wife was smarter than me… or maybe she’s just more paranoid.
{ 1 trackback }