You may obtain a security freeze on your credit report to protect your privacy and ensure that credit is not granted in your name without your knowledge. You have a right to place a “security freeze” on your credit report pursuant to New Jersey law.

The security freeze will prohibit a consumer reporting agency from releasing any information in your credit report without your express authorization or approval.

The security freeze is designed to prevent credit, loans, and services from being approved in your name without your consent. When you place a security freeze on your credit report, within five business days you will be provided a personal identification number or password to use if you choose to remove the freeze on your credit report or to temporarily authorize the release of your credit report for a specific party, parties or period of time after the freeze is in place. To provide that authorization, you must contact the consumer reporting agency and provide all of the following:

(i)  The unique personal identification number or password provided by the consumer reporting agency;

(ii)  Proper identification to verify your identity; and

A consumer reporting agency that receives a request from a consumer to lift temporarily a freeze on a credit report shall comply with the request no later than three business days or less, as provided by regulation, after receiving the request.

A security freeze does not apply to circumstances in which you have an existing account relationship and a copy of your report is requested by your existing creditor or its agents or affiliates for certain types of account review, collection, fraud control or similar activities.

If you are actively seeking credit, you should understand that the procedures involved in lifting a security freeze may slow your own applications for credit. You should plan ahead and lift a freeze, either completely if you are shopping around, or specifically for a certain creditor, a few days before actually applying for new credit.

You have a right to bring a civil action against someone who violates your rights under the credit reporting laws. The action can be brought against a consumer reporting agency or a user of your credit report.

To hear more information about placing or removing a security freeze, call 1 866 245 0074.

How to request a security freeze
Consumers must place a security freeze with each individual consumer reporting agency separately. To request a security freeze with Experian, log on to www.experian.com/freeze or submit your request in writing via certified or overnight mail to Experian, P.O. Box 9554, Allen, TX 75013 (overnight delivery may also be made to Experian, 711 Experian Parkway, Allen, TX 75013), and must include all of the following: full name, with middle initial and generation, such as JR, SR, II, III, etc.; Social Security number; date of birth; current address; and previous addresses for the past two years. In addition, enclose one copy of a government issued identification card, such as a driver’s license, state or military ID card, etc., and one copy of a utility bill, bank or insurance statement, etc., and make sure that each copy is legible (enlarge if necessary), displays your name and current mailing address, and the date of issue (statement dates must be recent). We are unable to accept credit card statements, voided checks, lease agreements, magazine subscriptions or postal service forwarding orders as proof. To protect your personal information, Experian does not return correspondence sent to us. Send copies of any documents you wish to provide to us and always retain your original documents. We will send you a confirmation notice once the security freeze has been added, and you will be given a personal identification number that will be required in order to remove the freeze temporarily (in order to apply for credit or for any transaction that requires that another party access your personal credit report) or permanently. If you have lost your personal identification number and need a replacement number, log on to www.experian.com/freeze, call 1 888 EXPERIAN (1 888 397 3742) or send your request in writing to Experian, 711 Experian Parkway, Allen, TX 75013 and include all of the required information listed above.

How to temporarily remove a security freeze
To temporarily remove a security freeze for a period of time in order to apply for credit or for any transaction that requires that another party access your personal credit report, you may log on to www.experian.com/freeze or call 1 888 EXPERIAN (1 888 397 3742), then enter your identification information and personal identification number. The fee for temporarily removing a security freeze is $5.35 (includes tax). Payments may be submitted with a credit card by internet or telephone or with a check or money order by mail. There is no fee for victims of identity theft who provide a valid copy of an identity theft report filed with a law enforcement agency. To temporarily remove a security freeze for a specific party, provide your personal identification number to the party you wish to grant access to your credit report. To ensure the security of your credit information and personal identification number, you should request a replacement personal identification number if you provide your number to a third party for the purpose of temporarily removing a security freeze from your credit file. Requests can be submitted in writing to Experian, 711 Experian Parkway, Allen, TX 75013.

How to permanently remove a security freeze
To permanently remove the security freeze from your personal credit report, log on to www.experian.com/freeze or call 1 888 EXPERIAN (1 888 397 3742). You also may send the request by mail to: Experian Security Freeze, P.O. Box 9554, Allen, TX 75013. Consumers should include their full name, with middle initial and generation, such as JR, SR, II, III, etc.; current mailing address; Social Security number; date of birth; previous addresses for the past two years; and enclose one copy of a government issued identification card, such as a driver’s license, state or military ID card, etc., and one copy of a utility bill, bank or insurance statement, etc., making sure that each copy is legible (enlarge if necessary), displays their name and current mailing address, and the date of issue (statement dates must be recent). We are unable to accept credit card statements, voided checks, lease agreements, magazine subscriptions or postal service forwarding orders as proof. You also must include your personal identification number. The fee for permanently removing a security freeze is $5.35 (includes tax). Payments may be submitted with a credit card by internet or telephone or with a check or money order by mail. There is no fee for victims of identity theft who provide a valid copy of an identity theft report filed with a law enforcement agency.

If you move to a new address and wish to keep the security freeze on your file, you must submit one copy of a government issued identification card, such as a driver’s license, state or military ID card, etc., and one copy of a utility bill, bank or insurance statement, etc., making sure that each copy is legible (enlarge if necessary), displays your name and current mailing address, and the date of issue (statement dates must be recent).