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I'm reasonably certain they have all been hacked recently, and they don't take security seriously, because: Why bother? They'll never face any serious consequences, and their power will continue unchecked.
this post was submitted on 23 Feb 2025
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I mean, this is exactly how it feels these days, and it sorta does feel like the entry field for my information on those sites isn't that safe lol. Let alone professional, makes you wonder if the sites legitimate. π₯΄
Objectively speaking, I don't think that entire industry is legitimate.
We are in agreement there lol
I froze three and was given a code to unlock them temporarily (or something this was like 8 years ago).
Gave the code to my bank when applying for a home loan. It didnβt work. Ended up just unfreezing so they could do their job.
Costs like $12 every time you want to freeze. Itβs a racket.
Which one required money to unfreeze? Because that definitely sounds sketchy.
You got scammed by one of the credit bureau's dark patterns to buy a service you don't need. It shouldn't cost any money to freeze/unfreeze your credit. You can do it online with each of them for free.
If you have the big 3 frozen, thatβs more than enough
I figured, but I heard there were other agencies, and I was hoping someone hear could shed some light on it. I maybe getting old, but i like thinking there's always something new to learn. π
Yeah, it's a bit annoying. But I think it's worth it.
For anyone else who is interested, the four credit bureaus in the US are: Equifax, Experian, TransUnion, and Innovis.
You might also be able to freeze you debit score with FIS.
Edit: For credit scores I might be thinking of locking not freezing as being the free option.
Thanks I'll do all of them, is the response time usually fast? And, it feels crazy risky giving them my cell number these days with increasing frequency of spam, can I just leave that blank? π€
Can't say I knew Innovis existed, wonder why it's not shared as one of the big ones?
Also, it could be silly asking, but why do you want to freeze your debit score? I never knew that was even a thing until now.
Innovis is a weird one. It's much less well known to many people than the 'big three'. But regardless, it's used by some pretty big companies, and its origin stems from the likes of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. And some of their services/interface are comically outdated, which to me makes it potentially prone to abuse. And that alone warrants giving it some attention.
Your debit score is important because that's what most financial institutions check against when you set up an account with them. They typically don't use credit scores for account eligibility. So debit scores (which are almost exclusively controlled by FIS) can be susceptible to abuse from that angle and in that industry.
ETA: Yes, the response time for the credit bureaus is pretty fast. I recommend setting up a free account with each of Equifax, Experian, and Trans Union. They will try to trick you into the paid account during the account creation process, so watch where you click. But their free accounts are decent and get the job done. Plus they make it easier to freeze/unfreeze your credit score than using no account. Innovis' process is easy too, and fairly quick, but it's very old-school.
Awesome, really appreciate all the details. I'll make an account for each of the 3 and go from there.
Sure there is the fear of a data breach since these sites will have my SSN, and breaches seem far too common these days. But if you trust them, I'll take your word since you've taught me far more than I expected to learn asking! The FIS sounds nightmarish.
Any other information you think might be worth sharing?