I Have My Credit Frozen With the Big 3 Credit Bureaus. What About the Smaller Ones?
Kerry from Georgia asks: "I have my credit frozen with the three major agencies, but recently I heard about others: Innovis, Sagestream, CoreLogic and LexusNexus. Do these have any impact on credit reports and if so, should I freeze them if available?"
Clark’s Take on Whether You Should Freeze Your Credit With the Smaller Credit Bureaus
Clark says: "You can go nuts freezing your identity everywhere."
Out of Sagestream, CoreLogic, LexisNexis and Innovis, Clark says that Innovis is "probably the one that sometimes will matter to a meaningful degree."
There’s always the possibility that a crook could use your personal information to open a fraudulent account that gets approved by one of the smaller credit agencies, but Clark says you really shouldn’t worry about these agencies too much.
“You cannot prevent every eventuality and every possibility,” Clark says. “And I’d say if you freeze your credit with Equifax, TransUnion and Experian, you’re going to eliminate more than 95% of the potential of identity fraud and theft.”
If you haven't frozen your credit, here's how to do it with Equifax, TransUnion and Experian.
Want to learn more about how you can protect your credit? Read our Identity Theft Guide.
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