Charles Schwab | How to Freeze Your Credit—and Why It Matters

You may have gotten that dreaded letter in the mail saying your information has been stolen in a data breach. It’s happened to me, and will probably happen again, as more and more identity thieves get access to our information. There were 2,850 data breaches involving more than one billion victims in 2024, according to a report by the Identity Theft Resource Center. And scammers stole over $1 trillion dollars globally in 2024, according to a report by the Global Anti-Scam Alliance.

So, when you get that letter or email about a data breach, don’t ignore it. Take it seriously—and take action. One of the first things you should do to protect yourself is freeze your credit. —read more—