Freezing your credit report has long been regarded as one of the best steps to take to make sure identity thieves cannot obtain loans or credit cards in your name.
And consumer advocates continue to recommend freezes despite recent revelations that TransUnion, one of the three major credit bureaus, botched “tens of thousands” of freeze requests over a period of years.
“It’s still a good idea to freeze your credit,” said Mike Litt, director of the consumer campaign at PIRG, a network of public interest advocacy groups.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau earlier this month ordered TransUnion to pay $8 million for misleading consumers who believed they were protected by freezes but were not because the company’s computer systems were overwhelmed by requests and failed to activate them, according to an administrative settlement between the bureau and TransUnion and two subsidiaries.
The total includes a $5 million penalty and $3 million to compensate customers.
Persons:
“ It’s, ”, Mike Litt, TransUnion
Organizations:
Consumer Financial
Locations:
PIRG