Quick answer: freeze all three files, and do it yourself
A credit freeze is a control you place on your credit report at a nationwide bureau so new creditors generally cannot pull that report until you lift the freeze. The FTC's credit-freeze guidance says anyone can place one, for any reason, at no cost, and that a freeze lasts until you lift it. It also says a freeze does not change your credit score. You place it with Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. One phone call does not cover all three.
A fraud alert is a different tool. It tells businesses to check that the applicant is you before opening new credit. It does not lock the report the way a freeze does. The FTC says you can have an alert even if a freeze is already on, and that contacting one bureau is enough for an initial alert because that bureau must tell the other two.
Lookup Plainly cannot place either control. This page is the map. The bureaus are the doors.
Freeze, alert, and monitoring
| Tool | What the FTC says it does | Who you contact | How long |
|---|---|---|---|
| Credit freeze | Blocks new-credit access to the report, including for you, until you lift it | Each of the three bureaus | Until you lift it |
| Initial fraud alert | Tells businesses to verify identity before new credit. Does not hide the report | One bureau, which notifies the others | One year, renewable |
| Extended fraud alert | Stronger verification flag after identity theft, plus a marketing-list effect the FTC describes | One bureau, with an IdentityTheft.gov report or a police report | Seven years |
| Active-duty alert | A separate alert type for eligible service members | One bureau | As the FTC describes for that alert |
| Paid "monitoring" | Not a freeze. A product that may send alerts after activity | Whoever sold it | Whatever the contract says |
Monitoring can be useful and still leave the file open for new credit. If your goal is to make a new-account check fail until you say otherwise, the freeze is the tool the FTC highlights. If your goal is "call me first," the alert is the tool. Many people use both. Neither deletes a fraudulent account that is already open. That is a dispute with the creditor and a recovery plan at IdentityTheft.gov.
What a freeze does not do
FTC materials say a freeze does not stop you from using credit cards you already have. They also say you can temporarily lift a freeze when you need a lender to check the report, including for a new card, a car, a job application, an apartment, or insurance, and then freeze the file again. The practical move is to ask which bureau that organization will use and lift only that one, then put the freeze back.
This page is not a guide to screening applicants, and Lookup Plainly does not provide consumer reports. What is FCRA explains why casual lookups are not a substitute for a lawful report when a decision is regulated. Your own freeze is a self-protection step.
A freeze also does not:
- remove your name from people-search sites. That is data broker opt-out
- prove whether an email was in a breach. That is data breach lookup
- replace a password change or a bank fraud report
- stop a thief who already has an open account and a card in hand
- travel automatically to specialty bureaus a landlord or a phone company might use. If that situation applies, read the FTC page for any extra bureaus it names rather than assuming the big three are the whole market
A placement routine
- Decide that you will do this yourself. Close pages that demand a fee to "submit your freeze."
- Open each bureau's freeze page from a bookmark you typed, or from the links on the FTC article, not from a text message.
- Place the freeze at Equifax, then Experian, then TransUnion. Wait until each one confirms.
- Store the PIN, password, or account recovery method offline or in a password manager you already trust.
- If you suspect identity theft, place an initial fraud alert as well and start a plan at IdentityTheft.gov.
- Order your reports from AnnualCreditReport.com, the site the FTC names for free reports, or call the number that site and the FTC publish. The bureaus have also offered more frequent free online checks. Read the report for accounts you do not recognize.
- When you need new credit, lift the freeze at the bureau the lender names, for the shortest window that works, then freeze it again.
If a bureau's site is down, the FTC article and the bureau's own help line are the fallback. Do not invent a workaround that sends your Social Security number to a support chat you found in an ad.
Temporary lifts and the "I locked myself out" problem
The freeze works on you, too. People discover that at a car dealership or a phone store. The fix is a lift, not a debate with the clerk. Ask which bureau they pull. Lift that bureau. If you lost the PIN, use that bureau's recovery process. A people-search site cannot look up your freeze PIN, and you should not post the PIN in email to a dealer.
Spouses and children are separate files. A freeze on your report does not freeze a child's file. IdentityTheft.gov discusses child identity theft. Follow that path rather than typing a child's full identifiers into random "dark web" forms. The breach guide explains why those forms are a weak check.
After a breach notice
A company letter that says your Social Security number was exposed is a reason to consider a freeze. It is not proof that a new account already exists. Split the work:
- Freeze the three reports if you want new-credit checks blocked.
- Read your reports for accounts you did not open.
- Change passwords on email and financial accounts you still use.
- Ignore a second email that offers to freeze your credit if you pay in gift cards.
Data breach lookup covers what an email-based leak check can and cannot show. Online privacy checklist is the broader habit list. How data brokers get your information explains a different industry from the credit bureaus, even though the data sometimes overlaps.
Scams that borrow the word "freeze"
Common scripts:
- "We are the bureau. Read us the one-time code to finish your freeze." You only type codes into a session you started.
- "Pay a processing fee to keep the freeze." The FTC says the freeze is free.
- "This is Medicare or the IRS. Freeze your credit by buying gift cards." That is an impostor script. See IRS impostor scam for the tax version. Hang up.
- Lookalike domains that add a letter to AnnualCreditReport or a bureau name.
Report fraud at ReportFraud.ftc.gov. If money already moved, call the card issuer using the number on the card.
Related guides
- Data breach lookup
- Online privacy checklist
- What is FCRA
- How data brokers get your information
- Data broker opt-out
The email widget on this page does not place a freeze and does not show your credit file.
Situation table
| Situation | Better next step | Weaker next step |
|---|---|---|
| You want new accounts blocked | Freeze all three bureaus yourself | Freeze one and assume you are done |
| You only want a "call me first" flag | Place a fraud alert at one bureau | Pay for a vague monitoring plan and skip both |
| A lender cannot pull your file | Lift the bureau they name, then refreeze | Send your PIN to the salesperson |
| A breach email arrives | Freeze if the data types justify it, and read your reports | Click the email's "freeze now" button |
| You want people-search pages down | Use the opt-out guides | Expect a credit freeze to delete those profiles |
| A caller demands a freeze fee | Hang up | Pay with a gift card |
Bottom line
Place the freeze at each bureau, keep the credentials, and lift it only for a check you asked for. Use a fraud alert when you want verification without locking the file. Use IdentityTheft.gov when theft already happened. Do not pay a stranger to press those buttons for you.