Your Credit Score's Invisible Enemies: What They're Not Telling You!

Hey, credit heroes. Do you know exactly who has your personal data? I recently made a TikTok video sharing about hidden credit bureaus, and a ton of people watched and I got so many questions about how to use a credit freeze to control your personal info. That's why today I'm sharing everything you need to know about freezing your credit to protect yourself. So you better stick around. My name is Daniel Rosen, and welcome to Credit Repair Business secrets. In the 20 years since releasing my first credit repair software, I've helped thousands of businesses scale from the ground up. During that time, I've also heard a lot of misconceptions and realized that there's a lot that most people don't know about their credit score. Like, you might not know that there are credit agencies who are sharing your info beyond Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. But there are. There's Innovis, PRVC, SageStream, and Ars. They are all consumer reporting agencies that gather, maintain and distribute your credit information. And people were shocked to learn that in the video that I shared. Now, you can opt out of some of these hidden credit bureaus by visiting their website or contacting them by phone or email. You can also freeze your information, but this might not have the impact that you expect. I hear a lot of rumors that you can use a credit freeze as a sneaky way to trick the credit bureaus. Now the story is that if you have something nasty coming up like a bankruptcy, you can freeze your credit with the company that supplies the public record. And then because it's frozen, the bureaus can't verify it. But if it sounds too good to be true, it usually is fake. And this rumor is fake. So you got to know exactly when to leverage a credit credit freeze and when it's not going to help you at all. Here's the thing to remember. A credit freeze is a powerful tool that you can use to protect yourself from identity theft and credit fraud. It temporarily stops access to your credit report, which means that most lenders and service providers won't be able to see your credit report. You won't be able to apply for new credit or get new accounts, but that's a really good thing. If your identity has been stolen, a credit freeze will stop a thief from being able to take out any more credit in your name, but it only stops the lenders from accessing your credit reports. It won't stop a dispute process or wipe anything from your record. A credit freeze actually doesn't affect your credit score at all. And I'm sorry to break it to you, but it's not going to help with credit repair at all either. Here's why this is important. Identity theft sucks. It creates a really big mess and it can be really, really scary. In 2017, hackers breached Equifax and made off with the personal data of 147 million people. And I was one of those people. After the breach, I had my identity stolen a whole bunch of times. I kept getting notices about new accounts being opened under my name and I didn't recognize any of them. I was able to close all the fake accounts, but it took a while and it was a big hassle. Have you ever had your identity stolen? It's actually really, really common. In fact, in 2021, over 42 million Americans were the victim of identity theft. And if you're working hard to repair your credit, bogus accounts are only going to make it harder to reach your goals. Here's what you need to know. Credit freezes are a powerful tool when applied to the right situation, like if your identity has been stolen or you think it might happen because of a data breach or a stolen purse or sketchy online activity. To start, you gotta understand the options available. A credit freeze acts as a full block on your credit reports, preventing companies from accessing them. It's free, but it has to be placed with each bureau separately, and you do this on their website. A credit lock offers a similar level of protection, but is generally a paid service that often includes perks like immediate activation and a fraud alert flags your credit report to prompt lenders to perform additional verification steps. Once you've decided that a credit freeze is right for you, It's a fairly straightforward process across the major credit bureaus and the other entities like those four hidden bureaus that I mentioned earlier. Just remember that while a freeze is an important protective measure, it won't impact your credit score. There are some differences between the processes that each bureau uses, but here are the four steps that you always need to follow. One, go to the credit bureau website for each of the bureaus that you want to freeze your credit with, and then go to their freeze page. Two, provide your personal information you want to give them. Your basic information usually includes your name, Social Security number, and your date of birth to verify that you are you. Three, create a PIN number. This is used later to unfreeze your credit report. And four confirm the freeze. The bureau will confirm the freeze with you within one business day and it's very easy. It just takes five minutes and then you have peace of mind. I keep my credit frozen all the time and remember to be proactive in checking your credit report and managing your credit information. Check out our integrated credit Monitoring within Credit Repair cloud to know immediately when accounts are being added in your name and we make it super easy to import credit reports and tag errors and send disputes. And here's my final point. The battle to stay informed and on top of your credit is constant. Knowing how to use a credit freeze to protect your credit score and knowing when it won't help both are critical to your financial health. And I'll end by saying if you want to learn how to raise your credit score, check out my video on how to build credit scores without more debt. And if you'd like to get certified in disputing and gain confidence and grow your very own credit repair business, check out our Credit Hero challenge. Doors are closing soon so sign up right now@creditherochallenge.com and keep changing lives.