Identity Theft

• If you have been the victim of identity theft, freeze your credit profile to prevent any further damage to your credit. There is no charge for placing a freeze on your credit if you are an identity theft victim.
  
  

Senior Citizens

• According to the FBI, senior citizens are more prone to credit card fraud because of the possibility of a lifetime of retirement savings, and because they tend to be more trusting to strangers as they grew up in a time when fraud was not so prominent. To protect themselves, senior citizens should have their credit reports frozen, and states such as Oklahoma allow seniors to put a freeze on their profile for free.
  
  

General Protection

• Anyone is allowed to put a freeze on his or her credit report. The fee for placing a lock on your profile varies depending on the state. The three credit reporting agencies can supply you with the pricing information.
  
  

Lifting a Freeze

• If you have a frozen credit profile and you would like to add a credit account to your name, contact the reporting agencies and pay a fee to have the freeze lifted. Once your account is in place, you can pay to have your credit profile frozen again.
  
  

Considerations

• You must initiate a separate freeze with all three credit reporting agencies. Freezing one account does not automatically freeze all three of them.