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Identity Theft Prevention

Identity Theft Prevention

Credit Freeze Watch Videos Tool Kit Complaint Form

A credit freeze, also known as a security freeze, is a consumer right provided by Indiana law.  Placing a credit freeze on your credit reports can block an identity thief from opening a new account or obtaining credit in your name. A credit freeze keeps new creditors from accessing your credit report without your permission. If you activate a credit freeze, an identity thief cannot take out new credit in your name, even if the thief has your SSN or other personal information, because creditors cannot access your credit report.

Any Indiana resident can request a credit freeze free of charge. There is no fee for Indiana residents to place, temporarily lift, remove or request a new password or PIN.  To place a freeze, either use each credit agency's online process or send a letter by certified mail to each of the three credit agencies. Make sure you freeze your credit with each credit bureau- a freeze with one bureau will not transfer to the others.

Please note that in the wake of the 2017 Equifax Data Breach, consumers may run into errors submitting the freeze request due to the influx of traffic to their websites. Please contact the credit agency directly if you encounter any issues- these websites are not administered by the Indiana Attorney General.

Equifax Credit freeze
P.O. Box 105788
Atlanta, GA 30348
1.800.349.9960
Place a Credit freeze Online with Equifax 

Experian Credit freeze
P.O. Box 9554
Allen, TX 75013
1.888.397.3742
Place a Credit freeze Online with Experian 

TransUnion Credit freeze
P.O. Box 2000
Chester, PA 19022
1.800.680.7289
Place a Credit freeze Online with Trans Union

For each, you may be asked to provide:

  • Your full name (including middle initial as well as Jr., Sr., II, III, etc.,) address, SSN, and date of birth

  • If you have moved in the past five years, you will need the addresses where you have lived over the prior five years

  • Proof of current address such as a utility or phone bill (alternative options include a bank, insurance, or credit card statement listing your full name and address)

  • A photocopy of a government issued identification card (state driver’s license or ID card, military identification, etc.)

*Click here for sample letters to send to all three credit bureaus.

Frequently Asked Questions

Click here for an informational video on security freezes.

Protected Person Security Freeze

As part of an ongoing effort by the Attorney General’s Office to help consumers protect themselves from identity theft and safeguard their credit, the Legislature in 2014 passed a new state law, Senate Enrolled Act 394 of 2014, creating the Protected Person Security Freeze.  Because identity thieves could attempt to steal the information of individuals such as children or disabled adults who have clean credit history in order to assume their identities and perpetrate fraud, the 2014 law offers a security freeze for protected consumers, similar to the credit freeze for adults.  Parents can use it to protect their children from identity theft even if the minors don’t have credit yet.  For mentally disabled adults who also should be protected against identity theft, their legal guardians can register them for the security freeze.

Below are links to the three credit bureaus Protected Person Security Freeze sites.  For the free service, each of the three credit bureaus requires that consumers register a minor or a protected consumer in writing, by mail, rather than online.  And each credit bureau has a slightly different format for registering for a security freeze for a minor or other protected consumer, so read the directions carefully.

Equifax
Freezing Your Child's Credit Report FAQs
Minor Freeze Request Form 
Incapacitated Adult Freeze Request Form
Consumer Service Center

Experian
Add a security freeze

TransUnion
Credit Freeze Information
Freeze my account
Freeze Support Center

 

Consumers who have questions about the Protected Person Security Freeze can contact the Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Division at 1-800-382-5516. More information is at this link: http://bit.ly/1IEAzg4