Actually this question is for my mother and yes it is asking for help because she does have perfect credit...by perfect, I mean spotless. She NEVER carries a balance, has NEVER been late in paying and has all platinum cards from the biggies, Chase, Capital One, Discover, and even the unlimited American Express Gold. But because of this, she's deathly paranoid about someone stealing her identity and opening new accounts which wouldn't be hard because her FICO score is the best. Now, my question is, is there anyway she can either call or write to each of the three credit bureaus requesting that no credit be opened anymore ever? Or could there be another similar way to protect herself and her credit? She has all the cards she needs and doesn't deal in mortgages. Thanks so much for any help.
She could request a credit block be put on each of her credit reports for the three CRA's: TransUnion, Experian, and Equifax. My mom and dad had to due this several years back. The procedure then for applying for credit is that you will need to get on the phone, provide sensitive information to the bureau, before the credit report could be accessed and processed. Actually, if you're applying in store for credit, it's difficult because of the block; you need to call ahead before doing so. My mom forgot about the block, and applied instantly for credit at Target. We know that Target is relatively easy to obtain, but the lady came back after 5 minutes and said, "Sorry. We cannot open an account for you at this time." She didn't give authorization for credit to be accessed/opened. This method is your best bet! Good luck in having your Mom protect that pristine credit!
She can contact all 3 credit bureaus and have a *Fraud Alert* put on her account. This will disable 'instant credit' at all stores and if an application is submitted via mail, they will not approve until they contact her to verify the application.
