LANSING, Mich. - Starting June 17, 2018, Michigan residents can freeze their credit at no cost.
Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette reminds consumers of the new state law on Monday.
"Following multiple security breaches that have exposed personal information of millions of Michigainians, I worked with the legislature to make sure that after a breach, it would not cost those exposed their hard-earned dollars when they weren’t at fault,” said Schuette.
“I applaud our legislature for taking the important step to protect Michigan residents, and I encourage those who have been impacted and those who want to limit who has access to their credit reports to take advantage of our new zero-cost credit freeze law.”
A credit freeze is a temporary block on third parties’ ability to access a consumer’s credit report. Credit reporting agencies can no longer charge fees associated with freezing a consumer’s credit report. The benefit of freezing a credit report is that no one can sign up for a new financial service using your stolen information.
If you're uncertain as to whether your credit was breached, Schuette encourages Michigan residents to go to Equifax’s Cybersecurity Incident & Important Consumer Information website to see if your information has been impacted. You can also read Equifax’s FAQ for Consumers; Progress Updates for Consumers; and Notice of Data Breach to keep up on the latest announcements from Equifax.
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April Stevens is a multi-platform producer at WZZM 13. Have a news tip? Email news@wzzm13.com, visit our Facebook page or Twitter.
