Protect your identity

What older adults should know

Bureau of Consumer

Financial Protection
2 PROTECT YOUR IDENTITY: WHAT OLDER ADULTS SHOULD KNOW

Protecting your sensitive personal 

information from misuse is a way to 

safeguard your credit. Unfortunately, 

hacking and data breaches expose 

the personal information of millions 

of Americans. In some cases, hackers 

take Social Security numbers and 

birth dates. Unlike credit card 

numbers, this personal information 

cannot easily be changed – it requires 

life-long protection against fraud and 

identity theft. 

There are many ways to protect your 

sensitive information from misuse, 

including monitoring your bank and 

credit card accounts, fraud alerts 

and security freezes, and credit and 

identity monitoring services. How do 

you know what’s right for you? 

Here are some choices you can use 

to protect your sensitive information 

from misuse and help guard 

your credit.

Consider a security freeze

A security freeze prevents lenders 

or creditors from accessing your 

credit reports. If you know or suspect 

that your personal information was 

exposed in a data breach, you should 

consider placing a freeze on your 

credit reports with all three major 

credit reporting agencies, Equifax, 

Experian, and TransUnion. Creditors 

usually won’t offer you credit if they 

can’t access your credit report. This 

makes it harder for identity thieves to 

open new credit and other financial 

accounts in your name. So a security 

You spend your life building your credit 

record. It’s important to always protect 

it. Even later in life, having good credit is 

important. It can help you get a loan, rent 

an apartment, or buy a home. 
PROTECT YOUR IDENTITY: WHAT OLDER ADULTS SHOULD KNOW 3

freeze on your credit report can help 

protect against fraud. If an identity 

thief stole your identity, a credit freeze 

is strongly recommended.

Review your financial 

statements regularly

Take time to review credit card, loan, 

and bank or credit union statements 

regularly. Through mobile and online 

banking, you can see your financial 

activity in real time. If something 

doesn’t look right in your monthly 

statements, alert your bank or lender 

immediately. 

Review your credit reports

Another way to protect yourself is 

by reviewing your credit reports 

at least once a year. Check your 

reports for mistakes. Remember, 

lenders make their decisions based 

on information in your report. Make 

sure you recognize the information 

on your credit report and that your 

personal and financial details are 

accurate and complete. You can 

request a free credit report every 

12 months from each of the three 

nationwide credit reporting agencies 

(Equifax, Experian, and Transunion) 

at annualcreditreport.com. There 

may be some differences in the 

information on your three nationwide 

credit reports, so check all three and 

compare them.

Consider a fraud alert

A fraud alert adds an extra layer of 

identity protection to your credit 

report. If an identity thief stole your 

identity, a fraud alert is strongly 

recommended. 

Identity and credit 

monitoring services

Credit monitoring services scan 

your credit reports for you, alerting 

you when a change occurs. Identity 

monitoring services scan your 

credit reports and other personal 

information.

Beware of credit repair scams. 

Warning signs for credit repair scams 

include requests to pay upfront for 

services, promises to improve your 

credit score, and promises to remove 

negative information from your 

credit report.

Are you a victim of identity theft? 

Report it to IdentityTheft.gov and get 

a recovery plan.
4 PROTECT YOUR IDENTITY: WHAT OLDER ADULTS SHOULD KNOW

Identity protection options

Option Benefits Limitations

Consider a 

security freeze

Allows you some control 

of your credit reports by 

restricting access to them 

and potentially preventing 

new accounts from being 

opened in your name. 

Are free to place with 

Equifax, Experian, and 

Transunion.

Does not affect accounts 

you have already opened. 

May be inconvenient. 

If you have a security 

freeze with all three credit 

agencies and you decide 

to apply for a new loan or 

other credit, you’ll have to 

temporarily lift the freeze 

with all three agencies.

Review 

financial 

statements 

regularly

You could recover some 

or all of your money if you 

act quickly. 

Federal laws protect 

you if you have an 

unauthorized transaction 

from your bank account 

and you report it 

promptly. Problems can 

be addressed before an 

unauthorized transaction 

reaches your credit report 

and damages your credit 

score.

Monitoring your accounts 

is free.

Does not guard against 

accounts being opened 

without your knowledge.
PROTECT YOUR IDENTITY: WHAT OLDER ADULTS SHOULD KNOW 5

Option Benefits Limitations

Review your 

credit reports

If you see accounts that 

you don’t recognize, you 

can immediately contact 

the credit reporting 

agency and the company 

that provided the 

information.

If you catch a mistake, you 

can dispute the incorrect 

information and notify the 

credit reporting agencies 

to request that they 

correct your report. 

Reviewing your credit 

report annually is free.

To confirm your identity, 

credit reporting agencies 

will ask you detailed 

questions about your 

financial history before 

you can access your 

report. If you are unable 

to confirm your identity 

online, call the credit 

reporting agency.

You’re generally entitled to 

only one free report every 

12 months from each 

of the three nationwide 

credit reporting agencies. 

You can request all three 

at one time, or request 

one from each agency 

every few months. Once 

you’ve received your 

free report, you can still 

request additional reports. 

By law, a credit reporting 

company can charge no 

more than $12.00 for a 

credit report.
6 PROTECT YOUR IDENTITY: WHAT OLDER ADULTS SHOULD KNOW

Option Benefits Limitations

Consider a 

fraud alert

Requires creditors to 

take steps to verify your 

identity before they can 

open a new account or 

increase credit on an 

existing account.

An initial fraud alert lasts 

a minimum of one year. 

You will need to place a 

new alert on your account 

every year if you want to 

extend the timeframe. 

An extended fraud alert 

lasts seven years, but is 

only available to victims 

of identity theft. It is not 

available to consumers as 

a preventive measure. 

Identity and 

credit 

monitoring 

services

Identity and credit 

monitoring services 

usually alert you to 

changes to your accounts 

by email, text message, 

or phone. 

Most credit monitoring 

companies charge a fee 

for their service, and 

prices may vary. Before 

signing up for a service, 

make sure you understand 

what you’re getting 

and how much they’re 

charging you. 

If you have credit 

monitoring, you’ll get 

an alert after a change 

has occurred on your 

report. But it does not 

prevent negative or 

incorrect information from 

appearing on 

your report.
PROTECT YOUR IDENTITY: WHAT OLDER ADULTS SHOULD KNOW 7

Contact one of the three 

major credit reporting 

companies

EQUIFAX

Security Freeze (800) 685-1111

Place a fraud alert (888) 766-0008 

Equifax Consumer Fraud Division 

PO Box 740256

Atlanta, GA 30374

EXPERIAN

Security Freeze (888) 397-3742

Place a fraud alert (888) 397-3742

Experian 

P.O. Box 9554 

Allen, TX 75013

TRANSUNION

Security Freeze (800) 680-7289

Place a fraud alert (888) 909-8872

TransUnion Fraud Victim Assistance 

Department

P.O. Box 2000

Chester, PA 19016

Learn more about identity 

protection

Visit AskCFPB at consumerfinance.

gov/ask-cfpb

Submit a complaint

Have an issue with a financial 

product or service? We’ll 

forward your complaint to the 

company and work to get you a 

response – generally within 

15 days.

 Online

consumerfinance.gov/complaint

 By phone (180+ languages)

M-F, 8 a.m. - 8 p.m. ET

(855) 411-2372

(855) 729-2372 TTY/TDD

 By mail

P.O. Box 2900

Clinton, IA 52733-2900

 By fax

(855) 237-2392
October 2018