Free Credit Report Freezes

Finally, the government has taken a consumer-oriented action.

All three credit reporting agencies have to provide free credit report freezing and unfreezing now.

You have to set up the freeze individually, but it doesn't take much time.  The harder part is that you have to create a pin and USE it to change the freeze.  This requires record keeping.  I used my password manager and saved it also in another manner.

In the context of family law, I have a two things to say about the freeze. I have had more than one case where one spouse would get a credit card(s) in the name of the other spouse and without their permission.  I do not know how this could happen once you place a freeze unless you are careless about the pin so it is a good idea if this is something you are concerned about.  Second, if you need to run your credit report in the course of a divorce and you have a freeze, you will need to freeze and unfreeze to run the report - I assume.  

It is my professional recommendation that everyone place a freeze on their report.