An Atlanta man thought he was protecting himself when he froze his credit, but consumer advisor Clark Howard said an impostor was able to thaw it out at all three credit bureaus.
“I've spent a decent amount of time trying to make sure that my credit is correct and up-to-date,” Sean Mahoney said.
When someone tried to open a line of credit in Mahoney’s name, he froze his credit with all three credit bureaus the same day.
“I felt that at least we had stopped the bleeding, and whatever it is that's gone wrong I’m now not worrying about it anymore,” Mahoney said.
A month later when he decided to refinance his home and needed to take the freeze off, he discovered the freeze was already removed.
“The first website I went to was TransUnion, and it said, 'Your credit isn't frozen, and I have in one window my receipt that said it was frozen, and then when I log it says it's not frozen,” Mahoney said.
It was the same story for Experian and Equifax when he called for help. The crook had also removed his fraud alert.
“They said, 'Well, you unlocked it' I said, 'No, I did not unlock it,' Mahoney said.
That's when he called team Clark Howard and Lori Silverman, who were able to put him in contact with someone at Equifax
“She was able to look into the account and understand the story that I was telling” Mahoney said. “What she could see is that someone had called in and authenticated that it was me and had been told the PIN number over the phone.”
Shawn said Equifax told him his credit would be taken offline.
“It will continue to accumulate information,” Mahoney said. “If an inquiry is made in my name, it will say I have no credit.”
Sean said he still thinks credit freeze is a good idea but feels a little less secure.
“It's like putting your seat belt on thinking that you're safe but turns out it's not actually connected,” Mahoney said.
Clark Howard said the good news is having a credit freeze hacked is very rare. He suggests sites like Credit Karma to monitor your credit.
“It's free to use and you'll be able to see what's going on with your credit even after you've frozen your files, and that way if any funny stuff starts happening, you'll know right away,” Howard said.
We contacted the credit bureaus Mahoney used to freeze his credit. They gave Channel 2 the following statements:
TransUnion:
“At TransUnion, we take security very seriously and do our best to provide a maximum amount of consumer protection. When a consumer calls to unfreeze a credit report and cannot provide their pin, we attempt to authenticate the consumer through a series of personal questions. We continually evolve our authentication process to focus on questions that would be difficult for fraudsters to answer, but that the consumer can answer. If the consumer’s identity cannot be authenticated by phone, they are asked to supply proof of identity in writing. This authentication is necessary because it’s possible that someone else could complete this process if they had significant personal information about a consumer. As an added measure of protection, consumers who are concerned about becoming a victim of fraud can place a fraud alert, which requires creditors to verify their identity prior to opening accounts or changing account limits by contacting a phone number provided by the consumer.”
Equifax:
"Unfortunately, fraud is one of the fastest-growing non-violent crimes in North America. It is imperative that consumers remain vigilant in protecting their personal information and regularly review their credit card statements, bank statements and credit reports for any signs of unauthorized use of information.
"For privacy reasons, we are unable to discuss details specific to this consumer.
"In order to remove or lift a security freeze from a credit report, a consumer would need to provide the following identification information:
- Complete name
- Address
- Social security number
- Date of birth
- Personal identification number (pin)
- Two (2) forms of acceptable identification
- Payment (if applicable, please check security fees and requirements for your state).
The identity verification methods we employ at Equifax uniquely authenticate a consumer’s identity through a process that uses intelligent questions specific to a consumer’s history. Additional, proprietary security methods are used to help prevent fraudulent access to a consumer’s credit report."
Experian:
“Experian uses consumer authentication methods that require consumers to provide a variety of forms of identity verification. We are very concerned about fraud and go to great measures to prevent it. However if an individual has somehow obtained all the credentials necessary to unfreeze another individual’s credit report – which is an illegal act - it is possible in rare instances. Unfortunately, no company is 100 percent immune from fraud and criminal activity.”
Cox Media Group
