#Equifax unfreeze phone number free#

In the meantime, Canadians can use anti-fraud protection services from credit reporting bureaus Equifax and TransUnion. But even though provincial and territorial governments have the power to mandate credit freezes, no action has been taken (at least not yet). In August 2019, Quebec proposed a bill to let consumers freeze their credit files. In a 2019 CBC Marketplace investigation, CBC reportedly reached out to all Canadian provinces and territories and most don’t have plans to introduce legislation around identity theft and fraud issues. What is the current credit landscape in Canada? Read more: 5 Things to Know about Credit Repair Companies Let’s have a look at the impact it has in Canada. There’s a lot of factors-both good and bad-that come with credit freezing and other alternative fraud protection. But what happens if that information gets stolen too? When you freeze your credit, you’re also given a PIN that will allow you to freeze/unfreeze your account.

It prevents new credit from being opened but if a scammer already has your account number or other personal information, they can still use your card to make purchases or sell your information. On the flip side, credit freezes are essentially useless if your information has already been compromised. They’re good because the credit card owner is in control-they can prevent identity theft from happening and protect their personal information from scammers. There are pros and cons to credit freezes. Unfortunately, this service is not yet available to Canadians. This means lenders, fraudsters or even the account owner can’t open the account or ask about the file until the credit card owner unlocks the freeze. When a credit card owner freezes their credit, it locks their file. Read on to learn more about what credit freezes do, the current credit landscape in Canada and how you can protect yourself against identity theft. As of 2020, you still cannot get a credit freeze in Canada.

#Equifax unfreeze phone number free#

There are similar issues in the United States, so much so that in May 2018, the U.S passed a law to mandate free credit freezes as a means of fraud protection. What Is a Credit Freeze and Is It Coming to Canada?Īround 27,000 Canadians report identity theft each year.