ARCHIVED: In Indiana, how can I help stop someone from opening a fraudulent credit account in my name?

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If your principal residence is in Indiana, state law lets you place a security freeze (also known as a credit freeze) on your consumer credit report, including your credit score. A credit freeze can help stop others from fraudulently opening new credit accounts in your name by preventing consumer reporting agencies from releasing your credit report without your authorization.

Note:

Law enforcement agencies, insurers, companies sending you pre-screened credit offers, and existing creditors seeking to collect on those debts can get copies of your credit report without your authorization, despite a credit freeze.

A credit freeze works as follows:

When someone tries to open an account in your name, the business or credit card issuer (i.e., creditor) will contact a consumer reporting agency to check your credit report and credit score.
When the creditor contacts the consumer reporting agency, the creditor will learn of the credit freeze, and won't be able to get your credit report or credit score.
When your credit report or score cannot be obtained, the credit freeze law requires a creditor to consider the application for credit incomplete. Presumably, at that point, most if not all creditors will refuse to open the account.

The credit freeze law lets you do any or all of the following for free:

Place a security freeze on your credit report
Release your credit report to one or more specified recipients
Lift a security freeze for a limited period of time
Remove a security freeze

For more, including instructions for placing and removing a freeze, and links to the top three credit reporting agencies, see the state Attorney General's Credit Freeze page.

To read the law, see Enrolled Act, Senate Bill 0403.