Anonymous,

Just this week, Capital One revealed that the personal data of more than 100 million people was compromised in a breach.1

This hack -- like the many that have come before it -- put consumers at risk of identity theft. And even if you've never had your identity stolen, this information is often good for years. Protecting yourself now can save you from significant financial issues down the road, even if you don't bank with Capital One.

Freezing your credit reports is one of the best ways to protect yourself from identity theft. U.S. PIRG has created a resource page to teach you exactly what that means and where to go from there.

Learn how to freeze your credit reports and protect yourself from identity theft.

Freezing your credit reports will prevent an identity thief from accumulating debt in your name. A credit freeze will have no effect on your credit score, and will not affect your ability to access credit you already have.

Here's how it works: A credit freeze blocks potential creditors such as credit card companies, banks or phone companies from viewing your credit report, which shows your credit history. Because banks and other financial institutions can't see your credit history, they won't issue you (or an identity thief) any new line of credit such as a credit card or loan.

Best of all, freezing (and unfreezing) your credit reports is completely free, as mandated by federal law.

Learn more about credit freezes on U.S. PIRG's resource page.

If you want to apply for a line of credit, you can easily temporarily lift or "thaw" your credit freeze.

Freezes can be temporarily lifted for anywhere from one day to one year. You may want to lift a freeze for a set number of days when applying for credit such as a mortgage, car loan or credit card, or you can ask the lender which credit bureau's report they will examine and only unfreeze that one.2

You can unfreeze your credit reports online, over the phone or by mail. You also have the option to permanently lift a credit freeze, but we don't recommend it.

Learn everything you need to know about freezing and unfreezing your credit reports on our resource page.

Thank you,

Faye Park
President

1. Emily Flitter and Karen Weise, "Capital One Data Breach Compromises Data of Over 100 Million," The New York Times, July 29, 2019.
2. Bev O'Shea, "How to Unfreeze Your Credit for Free," Nerdwallet, Oct. 5, 2018.