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You are here: Home / NewsMom Investigates / Child ID Theft / A Step-by-Step Guide to Freeze Your Child’s Credit

A Step-by-Step Guide to Freeze Your Child’s Credit

October 20, 2018 By Julie Watts 23 Comments

NOTE: This page was originally published in 2015 & was last updated in October 2018. 

When I set out to create this guide for parents, I never imagined it could be so difficult.  Several years, several massive hacks and several pieces of legislation later, every parent now has the right to freeze their kid’s credit and utilize the single best tool to prevent financial ID theft.

THE BACK STORY:
• How I Forced the Bureaus to Freeze My Child’s Credit
• Why My Toddler Has a Credit Card

However, the process is still not perfect…

We recently discovered some of the bureaus may be, once again, requiring you to mail in sensitive documents despite laws intended to prevent that.

READ MORE: Experian Child Credit Freeze Warning: Parents Beware of Mailing Sensitive Info

Back in 2016 I reported that the credit bureaus themselves were putting the identities of both parents and children at risk by requiring parents to mail sensitive documents to a PO box.

In “How I Forced the Bureaus to Freeze My Child’s Credit,” I outlined the security risks and detailed my 6-month effort to encourage the bureaus to voluntarily offer an alternative to mail. Ultimately, Transunion & Equifax agreed to allow parents to fax in documents upon request. Experian added a secure online upload feature.

Unfortunately, Transunion recently decided they would no longer offer an alternative to mail and disconnected their fax without warning. Similarly, Experian is no longer allowing parents to use its secure online upload function to submit the sensitive documents necessary for a child credit freeze.

To be clear, Experian does still have the online upload function and will allow adults (who they can charge) to use it, but they will not allow parents to use it for the child credit freeze.

Incidentally, these changes follow a recent  federal law that now requires the bureaus to allow all parents to freeze their child’s credit for free. They use to make money off child credit freezes and only allowed them in certain states.

Privacy advocates like Consumer Watchdog note that the refusal to offer a secure alternative to mail seems to contradict the spirit of the law which also requires the credit bureaus to let you request that freeze via “telephone or secure electronic means.”  In addition, the mail-only policy is at odds with various state laws prohibit printing Social Security numbers on materials that are mailed. They require parents mail in full SSNa along with birth certificates and a slew of other sensitive information.

We have reached out to regulators and hope to have a secure alternative to share with you soon.

In the meantime, you can review our step-by-step child credit freeze guide below and begin gathering the necessary documents. We suggest holding off on step 3 for Experian and Transuion until we update this post with an alternative to mail. Equifax does still offer a fax option as an alternative to mail.

However, if you do want to/need to freeze your child’s credit immediately, we highly recommend sending your documents to the bureaus via Certified or Registered Mail so that you can track the delivery and ensure it arrives safely at the bureau.

 


STEP 1 – Review the detailed “Child Credit Freeze Summary” for each credit bureau.
  • TransUnion Child Credit Freeze Summary
  • Equifax Child Credit Freeze Summary
  • Experian Child Credit Freeze Summary

The three bureaus have different procedures to freeze your child’s credit. Each “Child Credit Freeze Summary” above streamlines the child credit freeze process for that bureau.

The summaries above identify security concerns and include hard-to-find contact information, tips and sample documents specific to each credit bureau. You’ll also find a candid description of the hurdles and successes I encountered along the way.


STEP 2 – Compile your documents.
  • Child’s Birth Certificate
  • Child’s Social Security Card
  • Parent’s Government Issued ID (with home address)
  • Parent’s Utility Bill (with matching home address)
  • Notarized Description of Authority (Click Here for a Sample) 
    • This is simply a letter swearing under penalty of perjury that you are the child’s legal guardian and have the authority to freeze your child’s credit.
    • Have it notarized ($10)
    • FYI – Don’t sign the letter yourself until you are in the presence of the notary.

STEP 3 – Fax/upload your documents.
  • TransUnion- Fax: 610-546-4771
    (Note: TransUnion recently disconnected it’s fax line and is now refusing to offer a safe alternative to US mail 12/18)

    • Download TransUnion Sample Fax PDF here
    • Download TransUnion Sample Fax Word Doc Here

 

  • Equifax – Fax: 1-888-826-0707
    (Note: We confirmed this number IS accurate 10/18)

    • Download Equifax Sample Fax PDF Here
    • Download Equifax Sample Fax Word Doc Here

 

  • Experian – Secure Online Upload: https://www.experian.com/consumer/upload/
    (Note: Experian recently began refusing to let parents use the online upload for child credit freezes and is now refusing to offer a safe alternative to US mail 12/18)

    • Download Experian Sample Letter PDF here
    • Download Experian Sample Letter Word Doc Here

NOTE: By default, the bureaus ask that you mail in your documents. Security experts advise against sending any sensitive information (like your Social Security number) via standard mail.

While FedEx and UPS do provide more secure mail options, they do not deliver to P.O. Boxes, and the bureaus only offer P.O. Box addresses.


STEP 4 – Wait five business days.

 


STEP 5 – Call the bureaus to confirm your child’s credit file has been established.
  • TransUnion 888-909-8872
  • Equifax 888-836-6351
  • Experian 800-509-8495
    Experian will not verify anything over the phone, but you can call with questions.

When you call a credit bureau, ask to be transferred to the “U.S. consumer relations department that handles security freezes.”

When they ask for a Social Security number, decline and insist that they look up the file using a name and address instead.

You should agree to verify guardianship by confirming the last four digits of your child’s Social, but you should be allowed to decline to give the full Social Security number over the phone.

See “You Need My Social Security Number But You Won’t Give Me Your Employee ID?”


STEP 6 – Wait for confirmation from each bureau to arrive in the mail.

 


STEP 7 – Record your children’s pin numbers in a safe place so you can thaw their credit when they turn 18.
    • Safe deposit box
    • Scrap book
    • A series of discrete emails to yourself
      (Do not indicate what the numbers are for in case your email gets hacked.) 

For more information on how to detect, repair and prevent child ID theft, see #NewsMom Research & Resources – Child ID Theft
Julie Watts
Julie Watts
Julie is the consumer-investigative reporter for CBS in San Francisco. Her reports air nationally on CBS stations across the coun ...Read More

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Comments

  1. Jeff R says

    June 15, 2016 at 10:52 pm

    Thank you for providing this. It is very helpful. It is outrageous that the credit bureaus make it so difficult for us to protect our children from identity theft. This is our information that they are using to make a profit. I hope there is federal and state legislation to address this. I tried to freeze my wife and my credit report today and after 3 hours we were only successful with one reporting bureau.

    Reply
  2. KC says

    October 20, 2016 at 2:40 pm

    Hi,
    Thank you for putting this list together! It has simplified this process so much! I have a follow up question; Is there a way to get in touch with an actual human when calling the numbers provided? I wanted to verify the fax numbers so I wasn’t sending this info out into the void and I keep getting caught in an endless loop. Help!

    Reply
    • newsmom says

      October 26, 2016 at 12:25 pm

      Hi KC,

      Yes, the numbers are in the guides for each bureau:

      https://newsmom.com/experian-child-credit-freeze/
      Experian Phone Number: 1-800-509-8495 (to speak with an agent)

      https://newsmom.com/equifax-child-credit-freeze/
      Equifax File Freeze Direct Phone Number: 1-866-478-0027

      https://newsmom.com/transunion-child-credit-freeze/
      Main TransUnion Phone Number: 800-916-8800

      So glad you found it helpful!

      Reply
  3. JS says

    December 12, 2017 at 8:59 am

    First off THANK YOU for this very clear and helpful “how to!” TU and Eq got back to us with credit freeze confirmations for both of our kiddos but Experian sent a letter stating they had removed their name from a “preapproved credit offer mailing list.” They also stated we would have to send another completed form to be permanently removed from said list. No mention of our request to have their credit files frozen. Any tips on dealing with them at this point?

    Reply
    • JS says

      December 12, 2017 at 9:00 am

      Nevermind, I JUST received the Experian freeze letters so it seems they sent out the “mailing list” notices beforehand. Thanks again for all your help!

      J

      Reply
  4. Ian Leslie says

    April 25, 2018 at 7:40 am

    Terrific and useful article. I have an update for Colorado – a state not on the list of states that have enacted a child-credit-freeze law. Starting January 1, 2019 Colorado parents and guardians can request that a credit file be created for a minor and frozen if one does not already exist. So, if you can wait until then, this avoids the credit-card maneuver. It also authorizes the lifting or removal of the credit freeze – presumably before the child reaches 18. If you want to dig a little deeper, a starting link is https://copirg.org/news/cop/victory-gov-signs-credit-freeze-minors-bill-law .

    Ian

    Reply
    • newsmom says

      May 14, 2018 at 9:01 am

      That’s fantastic Ian. Thanks for sharing.

      Reply
  5. AJ says

    October 11, 2018 at 9:13 pm

    I called the Experian number you provided (and several other Experian numbers) and it’s been impossible to get to a human! Help!

    Reply
    • newsmom says

      October 13, 2018 at 1:04 pm

      Working on it… stay tuned. In the mean time, I can have a Experian Rep call you if you’d like.

      Reply
  6. boopyboop says

    November 8, 2018 at 4:48 am

    you need publication dates

    Reply
    • newsmom says

      November 8, 2018 at 6:14 am

      thanks. done.

      Reply
  7. Matt says

    December 13, 2018 at 10:48 am

    I tried faxing my Protected Minor Security Freeze requests to Equifax and TransUnion. Both the fax numbers you have listed (678-795-7954 and 610-546-4771 respectively) are non-working numbers.

    Reply
    • newsmom says

      December 13, 2018 at 12:45 pm

      Hi Matt,
      I’m not sure where you got the 678 number, but the fax number for Equifax is 1-888-826-0707
      I will double check on the Transunion number. They confirmed with me last month that the 610-546-4771 is the updated number. Stay tuned.

      Reply
      • newsmom says

        December 13, 2018 at 12:46 pm

        Out of curiosity, did you try dialing a 1 in front of the Transunion number? I wonder if the long distance on your fax prevented it from going through.

        Reply
      • Matt says

        December 21, 2018 at 12:47 pm

        The 678 number is what you have listed on your Equifax fax coversheet. The TransUnion number takes you to a recording saying “You’ve reached a non-working number at TransUnion.” and disconnects the call.

        Reply
        • newsmom says

          December 21, 2018 at 3:10 pm

          I just updated the article. Unfortunately Transuion disconnected the fax without warning and has decided that they will no longer offer a safe alternative to mail. I’m very sorry.

          Reply
  8. newsmom says

    December 21, 2018 at 3:10 pm

    I just updated the article. Unfortunately Transunion disconnected the fax without warning and has decided that they will no longer offer a safe alternative to mail. I’m very sorry.

    Reply
  9. Jeanette says

    May 23, 2021 at 9:26 am

    Great article! Any updates on fax numbers? Thank you!

    Reply

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