If you have just been scammed, or a company you use had a data breach, one of the most useful things you can do is freeze your credit. It is free in most places, it takes about ten minutes, and it closes the door that scammers need to open new accounts in your name.
This guide walks through the actual steps for the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia, since the process is different in each one. It also explains what a credit freeze does not cover, so you know what else to check.
You do not need any special technical skill to do this. You will need to know your basic identifying details, and in some countries a government ID number, so have those nearby before you start.
Plain talk: credit bureau
A credit bureau (also called a credit reference agency) is a company that collects information about how you borrow and repay money, then sells that information to lenders. Lenders check with these companies before approving a loan, credit card or phone contract.
How do I freeze my credit after a scam?
You contact each credit bureau in your country and ask them to place a security freeze (or, outside the US, a similar protection) on your file, which stops new lenders from checking it. Once it is in place, someone using your stolen details cannot open a new credit card, loan or phone contract in your name, because the lender cannot see your file to approve it.
The exact steps depend on where you live. Here is a quick comparison, followed by full instructions for each country.
| Country | Main tool | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| United States | Security freeze with Equifax, Experian and TransUnion | Free |
| United Kingdom | Cifas Protective Registration | About £30 (check current pricing) |
| Canada | Fraud alert with Equifax and TransUnion (free credit lock in Quebec and Ontario) | Free |
| Australia | Credit ban with Equifax and Experian (now including illion) | Free |
United States
In the US, a security freeze is free for everyone, by federal law, at all three bureaus. According to the Federal Trade Commission, placing and lifting a freeze costs nothing no matter how many times you do it.
- Contact Equifax online, or call 1-888-298-0045.
- Contact Experian online, or call 1-888-397-3742 (1-888-EXPERIAN).
- Contact TransUnion online, or call 800-916-8800.
You have to contact all three separately, since freezing one does not freeze the others. According to USAGov, a freeze placed online or by phone typically takes effect within one business day, and by mail within three business days. Lifting a freeze is usually much faster, often within an hour online or by phone.
For extra protection, two more freezes are worth doing:
- NCTUE covers phone, cable and utility accounts. Freeze it free through the NCTUE consumer portal or by calling 1-866-349-5355.
- ChexSystems covers new checking and savings accounts. Place a ChexSystems freeze online, free, or by calling 800-887-7652.
Try this
Write down the confirmation number or PIN each bureau gives you and keep it somewhere safe, like a locked drawer or a password manager. You will need it if you ever want to lift the freeze yourself to apply for new credit.
United Kingdom
The UK does not have one free freeze that covers all three credit reference agencies at once, so the process looks different from the US.
- Apply for Cifas Protective Registration online. This costs about £30 for 24 months (check current pricing) and places a warning flag against your name in the National Fraud Database, so lenders carry out extra identity checks before approving anything in your name.
- Get your free statutory credit reports from Experian, Equifax and TransUnion UK and check each one for accounts you do not recognize.
- Add a free Notice of Correction through any bureau that shows fraud on your file. This is a short note, up to 200 words, that lenders must read alongside your report, explaining what happened.
- Contact your bank right away if any of your own accounts were touched.
- Report the fraud at Report Fraud, the service that replaced Action Fraud in January 2026. You will get a crime reference number, which banks and bureaus often ask for.
Experian also offers a paid credit lock feature, called CreditExpert or Identity Plus, that lets you switch your Experian file on and off from an app. Since it is a paid subscription rather than a free legal right, most people are better off starting with Cifas Protective Registration.
Canada
Canada is changing quickly. Quebec has offered a free credit lock since February 2023, and Ontario followed in 2026 after the province’s Better for Consumers, Better for Businesses Act took effect. Equifax Canada switched on its free Credit Lock for Ontario residents in June 2026.
- Equifax Canada: log in to myEquifax to lock your file (Ontario and Quebec, free), or call 1-866-828-5961 to ask for a fraud alert anywhere else in Canada.
- TransUnion Canada: call 1-800-663-9980 or use your online TransUnion account to add a fraud alert. TransUnion’s own freeze is expected in Ontario by mid-2027.
If you live outside Quebec or Ontario, the fraud alert is your main free tool for now. It tells lenders to contact you and confirm your identity before approving anything, which stops most scammers from finishing an application in your name.
Australia
Under the Privacy Act, Australians can ask any credit reporting body for a ban on their credit report, and it is free.
- Equifax: submit the online credit ban form.
- Experian: submit the request at Experian Australia. Experian bought fellow bureau illion in 2024, so a ban request to Experian now covers illion’s file too.
According to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner, apply to more than one bureau if you can, since each may hold its own file on you. The first ban lasts 21 days. Before it runs out, the bureau must tell you at least five business days ahead of time, and you can ask for another extension for as long as you are worried about fraud. Experian’s extensions run 12 months at a time, and there is no limit on how many times you can renew.
Safety tip
Only use the bureau’s own website or the phone number printed on its official page. If someone calls you claiming to be from a credit bureau, bank or government agency and asks for your full Social Security number, Tax File Number or bank login, hang up and call the organization back using a number you look up yourself.
Credit freeze or fraud alert: which do I need?
A freeze blocks new lenders from seeing your file at all, which is the strongest protection. A fraud alert (called a fraud alert in the US and Canada) does not block access, but it tells lenders to double check your identity first, and it is faster to set up since contacting just one US bureau notifies the other two automatically.
Plain talk: fraud alert
A fraud alert is a flag on your credit file that tells lenders to verify your identity, usually by calling you, before approving any new credit. In the US, an initial fraud alert lasts one year and is free; an extended fraud alert for confirmed identity theft victims lasts seven years.
A freeze is the better choice after a scam, data breach, or lost wallet, since it is a stronger lock and, in the US, Canada’s newer provinces and Australia, it costs nothing. A fraud alert is a reasonable quick step if you are in a hurry, or you live somewhere a free freeze is not yet available.
What a credit freeze does not protect you from
A credit freeze only stops someone from opening a brand new account in your name. It does nothing for accounts you already have.
That means you still need to:
- Call your bank and credit card companies if a scammer already has your card number, account number or online banking login, and ask them to watch for unusual activity or issue new card numbers.
- Check your statements every month for charges you do not recognize.
- Change passwords on any account a scammer may have accessed, especially email and banking.
- Watch for new mail that suggests an account was opened before you froze your file, like a credit card you never applied for.
If a scam happened by text, phone or a suspicious link, our guides on unpaid toll text scams, social security and IRS scam calls and what to do after clicking a scam link walk through the extra steps for those situations. If money already left your account, see where to report a scam for the right agency in your country.
If you would like a family member to help keep an eye on things afterward, our guide to Find My Device and Family Link for Android shows how a trusted relative can help monitor a phone and its accounts.
Where to go from here
A credit freeze is one part of recovering from a scam. Our book Scam-Proof covers the full picture, including how to spot a scam before it happens, what to say if you are put on the spot, and how to help an older parent set up these same protections. You can also get our Scam-Stopper Kit (free when you join our email letter) at /kit/ for wallet cards and a family safe word sheet you can use right away.
