How to Freeze Credit Reports in Wisconsin

Identity thieves who obtain your personal information can use it to obtain new credit cards, cell phones and even apartments. When they don't pay the bills, it's your credit that suffers. One of the tools to block identity theft is a credit freeze: By restricting credit bureaus from giving out your credit information, you prevent thieves from opening more accounts. If you live in Wisconsin, state law requires the credit bureaus to grant you a freeze if you request it. Depending on the circumstances, you may have to pay for a freeze.

Instructions

1

Collect documentation. If your credit report shows that someone has been using your name and Social Security number to set up accounts in your name, print out the report. If you close any of the accounts, get a statement from the credit card company or any other company involved. Use the Federal Trade Commission's online identity theft report to file an FTC complaint, then print it out. According to the FTC's identity-theft website, the more documentation you have, the more likely that the police will take you seriously.

2

Report the identity theft report to your local police or the police in the community where the theft took place. Wisconsin's Office of Privacy Protection states that filing for a credit freeze normally costs $10 for each credit bureau you contact, but not if you have a valid police report. Present the police with whatever documentation you've collected and ask for a copy of the police report. If local rules don't allow the police to make a copy, the FTC complaint form has a space for an officer to write and sign the official report number.

3

Write to the three main credit bureaus --- Equifax, Experian and TransUnion --- and request a freeze. The Office of Privacy Protection has addresses on its website for all three bureaus, as well as form letters you can download, then complete with your personal information. The department states that you must request a freeze from all three bureaus; you should receive a response from them within 10 days after they receive the letters. The response includes a personal identification number, or PIN, that you can use if you need to ask the credit bureaus to lift the freeze.

4

Use the PIN if you decide to lift the credit freeze, or if someone needs legitimate access to your credit history, the Office of Privacy Protection states. For example, if you're applying for a mortgage, your lender needs to access the report before it agrees to loan you money. Contact one of the bureaus with your PIN, identification and a statement about how long you want the reports available for. Bureaus may charge a fee for lifting the freeze.