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Credit freeze & identity-theft response checklist

Select what happened to get a checklist with direct links to the three credit bureaus and the FTC.

Choose what happened

This checklist is for you if: your information may have been exposed or misused, or you want a preventive credit freeze.

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What happened?

Pick the closest match. Choosing another situation keeps any boxes you already checked during this visit.

Preventive I want to freeze my credit No known misuse. I want to make new-account fraud harder before anything happens. Show my checklist Information exposed My information was lost or exposed I received a breach notice or know that information was lost, but I do not know that anyone used it. Show my checklist Known misuse Someone used my information I found an account, charge, application, loan, benefit claim, or other activity that is not mine. Show my checklist

This tool does not ask for sensitive details. Do not put names, account numbers, passwords, reports, or case numbers into Credit Proud.

You submit each request yourself. Credit Proud cannot place a freeze or fraud alert, file a dispute, or submit an FTC report for you.

U.S. resources. Credit Proud last checked these links on August 14, 2026.

Your checklist

Work through one item at a time

Each official link opens in a new tab. Mark the item here after you finish it on the official site.

Do this first

Contact each company where fraud happened

Call a number printed on your card or statement, or use a site you already know is genuine. Do not use contact details from an unexpected message.

Ask for the fraud department and explain which account or activity is not yours.
Ask the company to close or freeze the affected account and stop additional transactions.
Write down the date, department, representative, and any case number somewhere secure outside this checklist.

Browse the FTC recovery steps IdentityTheft.gov

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Account security

Secure affected logins and your primary email

Change compromised or reused passwords in the company’s app or on the site you normally use. Secure your primary email first because it may reset your other logins.

Use a new, unique password and change the PIN or username when the provider supports it.
Turn on multi-factor authentication, preferably with an authenticator or security key when available.
Review recovery email addresses, phone numbers, forwarding rules, and recent sessions for changes you did not make.

Use the FTC data-breach response IdentityTheft.gov

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Match the exposed information

Check the FTC steps for each type of exposed information

The FTC gives different steps for exposed Social Security numbers, passwords, payment cards, bank accounts, driver’s licenses, and medical information.

Open the FTC data-breach flow and choose each kind of information involved.
Complete the steps for each exposed item instead of relying on credit monitoring alone.
If you find that someone already used the information, switch the checklist to confirmed misuse.

Use the FTC data-breach response IdentityTheft.gov

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Before you start

Know what a security freeze does

A freeze limits access to a credit file to make new-account fraud harder. It is free, does not affect credit scores, and remains until you lift or remove it.

A freeze only limits access to your credit file for new applications. It does not close an existing account, reverse a charge, or replace an identity-theft report.
You will need to lift the relevant freeze when you legitimately apply for new credit.
Choose the free security freeze; a bureau may also display separate commercial products.

Compare freezes and fraud alerts at the FTC consumer.ftc.gov

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Bureau 1 of 3

Freeze your Equifax credit file

Use Equifax’s official site to place the free freeze.

This freezes only your Equifax file.
Keep the account or recovery method needed to manage the freeze somewhere secure. Do not put it in this checklist.

Open Equifax security freeze equifax.com

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Bureau 2 of 3

Freeze your Experian credit file

Use Experian’s official site to place the free freeze.

This freezes only your Experian file.
Keep the account or recovery method needed to manage the freeze somewhere secure. Do not put it in this checklist.

Open Experian security freeze experian.com

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Bureau 3 of 3

Freeze your TransUnion credit file

Use TransUnion’s official site to place the free freeze.

This freezes only your TransUnion file.
Keep the account or recovery method needed to manage the freeze somewhere secure. Do not put it in this checklist.

Open TransUnion credit freeze transunion.com

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Fraud alert Optional

Decide whether to add a fraud alert

Unlike a freeze, an alert does not block access to your report. It tells a prospective creditor to verify your identity before extending new credit.

For an initial one-year alert, contact any one bureau; that bureau must notify the other two.
An extended seven-year alert is for identity-theft victims and requires an FTC Identity Theft Report or police report.
You may use a fraud alert even when your credit files are frozen.

Compare freezes and fraud alerts at the FTC consumer.ftc.gov Use Equifax for a fraud alert equifax.com Use Experian for a fraud alert experian.com Use TransUnion for a fraud alert transunion.com

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Check all three

Get and review your official credit reports

Get all three reports through AnnualCreditReport.com, the federally authorized site.

Look for unfamiliar accounts, inquiries, names, addresses, balances, and collection entries.
Save report copies securely and note which report contains each unfamiliar item.
Getting your own reports does not remove or lift a security freeze.

Get your official credit reports AnnualCreditReport.com

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Official FTC report

Report the identity theft at IdentityTheft.gov

Give the FTC the facts you know. The site creates an FTC Identity Theft Report and a situation-specific recovery plan.

Include the unfamiliar accounts or activity you identified without guessing about facts you do not know.
If you continue without an IdentityTheft.gov account, print or save the report and plan before leaving the site.
Keep the FTC report with your other recovery records; do not upload it to Credit Proud.

Report identity theft and get an FTC recovery plan IdentityTheft.gov

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If something is not yours

Watch for evidence that the information was used

Review financial activity and notices. A new account, charge, application, benefit claim, or other use means someone has used the exposed information.

Contact the affected company immediately if you find unauthorized activity.
Then select confirmed misuse here and report at IdentityTheft.gov.
Do not assume that a monitoring alert alone closes or disputes an account.

Read the FTC identity-theft guide consumer.ftc.gov

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FTC follow-up

Work through the FTC recovery plan

Use the plan created for your situation to close fraudulent accounts, remove unauthorized charges, and correct affected records.

Ask companies for written confirmation of their action and keep copies of correspondence.
Follow the plan’s instructions for credit-report disputes and any tax, medical, benefits, employment, or criminal-identity issues.
A police report can be useful or required in some situations; follow the FTC plan and the affected company’s instructions.

Browse the FTC recovery steps IdentityTheft.gov

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Report correction If this applies

Request a block for identity-theft information on a credit report

Use this process only for credit-report information caused by identity theft. Use a regular dispute for other report errors.

Send the reporting bureau appropriate proof of your identity, a copy of your identity-theft report, identification of each fraudulent item, and a statement that the information does not relate to a transaction you made.
After the bureau receives all four items, FCRA section 605B gives it four business days to block the identified information.
A bureau may decline or rescind a block in the circumstances listed in the law. Keep complete copies and follow the current bureau and FTC instructions.

Use the official identity-theft credit-bureau letter IdentityTheft.gov Read FCRA section 605B consumer.ftc.gov

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Future applications

Keep the freezes in place until you need access

Before applying for credit, ask which bureau the lender will use. If possible, lift only that bureau’s freeze.

Use the bureau’s official site to schedule a temporary lift or remove a freeze.
Choose a temporary-lift end date that gives the authorized credit check enough time without leaving the file open longer than needed.
Store bureau login and recovery information in a password manager or another secure place. Never put it in this checklist.

See FTC credit-bureau contact information IdentityTheft.gov

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Credit bureaus and federal resources

Official sites

Manage freezes on the bureau sites. Use the FTC and AnnualCreditReport.com links for reports and recovery steps.

Bureau 1 of 3

Equifax freeze

Place, lift, or remove the free security freeze on your Equifax file.

Bureau 2 of 3

Experian freeze

Place, lift, or remove the free security freeze on your Experian file.

Bureau 3 of 3

TransUnion freeze

Place, lift, or remove the free security freeze on your TransUnion file.

Federal Trade Commission

Report identity theft

Create an FTC Identity Theft Report and a personal recovery plan.

IdentityTheft.gov

Federal Trade Commission

Respond to a data breach

IdentityTheft.gov lists steps for each type of exposed information.

IdentityTheft.gov

Federally authorized

Get all three credit reports

Get reports from Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion.

AnnualCreditReport.com