Emory Moe is worried about someone stealing his identity.
The San Diego man may have had his personal information stolen in the Anthem Insurance hack, so he's decided to put a freeze on this credit report.
"A freeze means nobody can open an account or any kind of loan with my social security number," Moe said.
A freeze through each of the three credit reporting bureaus is an effective way to stop ID thieves according to Eva Velasquez, the CEO of the Identity Theft Resource Center.
"It is one of the strongest fraud remedies out there," Velasquez said.
But it can also be a problem for some people.
Once you freeze your report, everyone is locked out. That means any third party, even people you might want to check your credit like banks, credit card companies, auto dealers, employers and landlords.
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"So when you freeze that, you limit access to all the potential parties that use it," Velasquez said. "And you have to unfreeze it to allow them access."
Unless you are a victim of identity theft, freezing your account costs $10 in California and $5 for people over the age of 65. It is a single charge and the freeze is indefinite.
But if you choose to unfreeze your account there is also a charge, and another charge to freeze it again.
One positive is that freezing your report does not impact your credit score.
Moe says he's unlikely to add another credit card or buy another car, so the idea of blocking his credit report from scam artists sounds great.
"As long as there are people out there who could steal identity, I don't want them to be able to do anything," Moe said.
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