You can protect your credit with three moves: monitor your reports, block new account fraud and harden your logins.
This guide gives U.S. specific steps and timelines from federal agencies and credit experts. It draws on guidance from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), Internal Revenue Service (IRS), National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and myFICO.
This guide is for education and entertainment only. It is not legal or financial advice.
Read the overview then work through each step in order. Keep your records in one folder and set calendar reminders for follow ups.
Credit Basics in 90 Seconds
Credit reports and scores show how you use borrowed money, so understanding them helps you spot problems fast.
Your credit report is your detailed file at Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. It lists accounts, balances, payment history and inquiries. Your credit score is a number calculated from that report.
FICO scoring factors are public. Payment history counts for 35 percent of your scores, and amounts owed counts for 30 percent.
Length of credit history makes up 15 percent. New credit and credit mix each make up 10 percent.
A hard inquiry happens when a lender checks your file for a credit decision. A soft inquiry happens for pre approvals or when you check your own report. Soft inquiries do not affect your scores.
Key Definitions
- Credit report: Your credit record at each bureau
- Credit score: A number built from your report
- Hard inquiry vs soft inquiry: Hard inquiries can affect scores while soft inquiries do not
- Utilization: Your revolving balance divided by your credit limits
Step 1: Check Your Reports Weekly
Checking your reports weekly lets you catch fraud before it spreads.
Get free weekly credit reports from all three bureaus at AnnualCreditReport.com. The FTC identifies it as the only authorized website for federally mandated free reports, and the bureaus have made weekly access permanent.
Requesting your own report is a soft inquiry that does not affect your FICO scores. Bookmark AnnualCreditReport.com so you avoid lookalike sites. Download each report as a PDF and save it with the date in the filename.
Scan for These Red Flags
- Accounts you did not open or recognize
- Balances that do not match your statements
- New hard inquiries you did not authorize
- Name or address errors that suggest file mixing
If you find an error and dispute it, the bureau generally must investigate within 30 days, or 45 days if you provide more information. The bureau must send results within five business days after completing the investigation.
Step 2: Dispute Errors That Hurt You
Your legal rights let you remove damaging inaccuracies. Dispute with both the credit bureau and the furnisher, the company that reported the item, and send copies of proof, not originals. Structure your files so you can find them fast using consistent filenames.
Exact Dispute Steps
- Capture the error with a screenshot and marked up PDF
- Gather supporting documents including payment records and identity documents
- Submit online or mail a letter by certified mail with return receipt
- Set a calendar reminder 35 to 40 days out to verify results
If the result is incomplete, escalate with a CFPB complaint and keep all reference numbers. You can add a 100 word statement to your report if a factual dispute remains.
Step 3: Use a Free Security Freeze
A security freeze on your credit file is your strongest defense against new account fraud because it blocks most prospective creditors from accessing your file. That barrier prevents criminals from opening new accounts in your name. Freezes are free to place or lift nationwide and, according to the FTC, they do not affect your credit scores.
By law a bureau must place a freeze within one business day of an online or phone request. Lifts happen within one hour for online or phone requests. By mail it can take up to three business days.
Set Up Freezes at All Three Bureaus
- Create or sign in to your accounts at Equifax, Experian and TransUnion
- Verify your identity with secure questions
- Place a freeze at each bureau and save PINs in a password manager
- Confirm by email that each freeze is active
To see one bureau’s process in detail, spend a moment looking at how its website walks you through placing, temporarily lifting, and removing a freeze. Use temporary lifts when you apply for credit, and when you are ready, if you prefer step-by-step guidance for a more concrete example, visit TransUnion’s credit freeze instructions and follow the on-screen prompts. Ask the lender which bureau it will pull so you can lift only what is needed for the shortest time.
Fraud Alert vs Freeze vs Lock
Different tools protect you in different ways when your information is exposed. An initial fraud alert lasts one year and tells creditors to take extra steps to verify your identity, while an extended alert lasts seven years if you have an identity theft report. You can contact one bureau to place an alert, and it must notify the others.
A credit lock is an app feature from a bureau. It is convenient, but it is a product, not a legal right. Use an alert if you see suspicious activity, and use a freeze for proactive long term protection.
Harden Logins and Reduce Attack Surface
Strong passwords and multifactor authentication cut account takeover risk dramatically and shrink your attack surface, meaning the ways attackers can get into your accounts.
Use at least 15 character passphrases on any account that uses a single factor according to current NIST guidance. If the site supports multifactor authentication, a minimum of 8 characters is acceptable though longer is better.
Enable multifactor authentication on email, banking, tax and shopping accounts. This significantly reduces account takeover risk according to the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA). Prefer authenticator apps or security keys over SMS codes.
Phishing Red Flags to Spot
- Sender address is off by a letter or two
- Links point to lookalike domains
- Urgent tone and requests for codes or passwords
If a Data Breach Hits You
Fast action limits damage after a breach notice arrives. Act within 30 minutes by changing the password and turning on two factor authentication on that account and on your email. Place a fraud alert or freeze if you suspect misuse.
Pull fresh reports and search for new accounts and inquiries. Consider an IRS Identity Protection PIN to block fraudulent e-filing before tax season. The IP PIN renews each year and must be used once enrolled according to the IRS.
Quick Reference Checklist
Keep these resources handy to protect your credit over time. Key timelines include freeze placement within one business day by phone or online, with lifts completed within one hour. Disputes generally take 30 days to investigate, and fraud alerts last one year while extended alerts last seven years.
Copy These Into Your Notes
- AnnualCreditReport.com for weekly free reports
- IdentityTheft.gov to report identity theft
- OptOutPrescreen.com for prescreened offer opt outs
- IRS Get an IP PIN tool for tax filing protection
Your Next Three Moves
Start today with three focused actions. Get your reports and scan for errors, then freeze your credit at all three bureaus. Harden your logins by enabling multifactor authentication wherever you can, and use your rights to fix errors fast while keeping copies of every document and confirmation.
Revisit this playbook each quarter. Small habits keep your credit and identity safer over time with free tools and simple steps. Your future self will appreciate the 30 minutes you invest today.
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