When Axton Betz-Hamilton set up her first utility bill at college, she soon realized something was very, very wrong.

It turned out she’d been a victim of identity theft—and it had destroyed her credit rating.

In 2001, when she was a 19-year-old student, Betz-Hamilton’s new utility provider demanded a $100 security deposit to turn on her service, citing her credit score.

“I thought it was because I didn’t have enough credit,” she told Fortune. But when a copy of her credit report turned up in her mailbox six weeks later, she learned the opposite was true.

  • Xavier@lemmy.ca
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    1 year ago

    Please freeze your credit file at Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. It’s free and you can unfreeze it anytime you want (or whenever you judge its a valid credit check for something you actually requested yourself).

    Whether you have a low/medium/good/perfect credit score and are satified with the credit cards and mortgage/loans you already have or lived without ever having a credit card and loans, it is of utmost importance to freeze your credit files to preempt any future identity theft from becoming a life upending disaster.

    Some helpful links:

    American Express | How to Freeze Your Credit at All 3 Bureaus—For Free

    nerdwallet | How to Freeze Your Credit

    Federal Trade Commission | What To Know About Credit Freezes and Fraud Alerts

    For the fellow Canadians reading this, freezing your credit file has been enshrined in law in Québec since February 2023. I have frozen mine on the first week of February. However, I am unaware of the availability of that option in other provinces, please check with your bank or provincial service bureau (equivalent to Services Québec here) or directly contact Equifax and TransUnion.