Almost half of Americans, including me, were victimized last year when our personal information may have been exposed in a data breach at credit bureau Equifax.
It was like being stranded naked on the 50-yard line of a crowded football stadium. You wondered how many people were looking at you, but there was little you could do to cover yourself.
We feared we could be exploited by crooks, with our names and information being used to apply for credit cards or loans, not to mention being sold over and over to other identity thieves. And when we tried to do something to protect ourselves, by freezing our credit, we were told we’d have to pay to do that.
That was discouraging and offensive.
Why should we have to pay the credit bureaus to freeze our own credit? Why should the industry profit from an inexcusable mistake by one of its prominent members?
A year later, Equifax hasn’t paid enough for its blunder that may have exposed the data of nearly 148 million people. But its breach prompted Congress to change the system and prohibit credit bureaus from charging for freezes.
A law took effect Friday that requires freezes to be free. There also cannot be a charge to temporarily lift a freeze to apply for credit or have your credit checked.
While Equifax offered free credit freezes — it initially charged for them but relented amid criticism that it was profiting from its error — after the breach, the other two major credit bureaus, Experian and TransUnion, continued to charge fees. The amounts varied and were set by state laws. The cost to most Pennsylvanians was $10 for a freeze and $10 every time you wanted to temporarily lift it.