Here's The One Free And Easy Thing You Can Do Right Now To Protect Your Credit From Data Breaches

Searching my email inbox for the phrase "data breach" brings up so many results that I almost wonder if I should start selling my data myself to get a piece of the action. I have data breach emails from my bank, my cellphone carrier, my internet service provider, my doctor's office, my health insurance, and even my dear old frenemy Ticketmaster. Is nothing sacred?

With recent allegations that up to 2.9 billion social security numbers may have been exposed in a hack, it feels like a good time to talk about one free and fairly easy step that stops scammers from setting up fraudulent accounts using your information.

Ask anyone who's ever been a victim of identity theft , and they'll tell you it's an absolute nightmare. Identity thieves can wreck your credit score, do a number on your finances, and put you through the bureaucratic ringer as you attempt to get things straightened out again. Luckily, there's an easy step that you can take today that will help you protect yourself.

It's called a credit freeze . You just have to contact all three credit bureaus (Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion), and they'll freeze your credit file for free. When your file is frozen, the credit bureaus won't allow credit card companies and lenders to check your credit report or score. This means identity thieves who may have picked up some of your info in a data breach won't be able to open new credit accounts in your name.

When you want to open new accounts in the future, you'll need to reach out again to unfreeze your file. You can freeze and unfreeze your credit online or by calling or faxing the credit bureaus. Doing it online is definitely the fastest (and, in my humble opinion, the easiest) way to do it. BTW, freezing your credit won't affect your credit score, and you can still check your credit report while it's frozen.

To show how simple the process is, I went ahead and started the stopwatch app on my phone while I requested a freeze on my credit at all three credit bureaus. It's annoying, but you gotta freeze your file with Experian, Equifax, and Transunion because different creditors and lenders tend to rely on reports from different bureaus. As a consumer, it's really hard to know which companies look at which reports, so freezing them all is your best bet to protect your finances.

Here are links to request a security freeze with all three credit bureaus in the US:

• Experian

• Equifax

• Transunion

For Experian, all I had to do was log in to my account and click a button, and just like that, my credit file is locked down. For Equifax and Transunion, I filled out a couple of quick forms with basic information like my address, birth date, and social security number. It took me just under five minutes to finish freezing my credit with all three bureaus, and I'm so glad I did it.

Freezing your credit is a great start, but it has some limitations. Creditors and lenders you have current accounts with will still be able to access your info. And it won't prevent thieves from using your existing credit cards if they've gotten access. So, there are other steps you might consider if you're really concerned about protecting your data.

You might also want to add a fraud alert to your credit reports to notify lenders and creditors to contact you directly to verify that any requests for new credit accounts are really coming from you. Changing your passwords for any compromised accounts is another protective step, and be sure to check your credit reports regularly for errors or fraud. Finally, keep up with news about what kinds of scams are going around so you don't get fooled by someone who's trying to use your data against you.

Is your inbox also filling up with data breach notifications? Or do you have an identity theft story to share? Let's talk about it in the comments!