Moronic Monday Thread for the week of February 01, 2016

Is there a way I can stop her from opening any more cards in my name?

Yep, but you might want to discuss this matter further with your mother. It sounds like there's a possibility that she doesn't have present means to pay for certain things like books. There is a way to do what you want, but please tread carefully.

I am assuming you live in the US. In the US, you can go to each of the three major credit bureaus (Experian, Equifax, Transunion) and request a credit freeze. What this does is it prevents future creditors from being able to do a "pull" on your credit. When you apply to a new line of credit, the creditor sends a request to one or all of those bureaus to do the "pull", and they reply back with your credit history.

When you request to have a credit freeze, the bureaus will from that point onward no longer provide your credit history when requested. You have to send the bureau your authorization (by a provided PIN) to release your history to the creditor you specify. This PIN is provided when your freeze is successful. As a disclaimer: there is a possibility that a creditor will start a line of credit without knowing your credit history, but the chances of that are very, very small.

The freeze can be requested by going to each bureau's website individually. It will require (probably) a print out of your credit history, since they will ask you questions of that nature to confirm your identity. It will probably take a few hours and about $15 in all, depending on what state you live in. And when you do want to "thaw" your credit in the future, you'll have to pay a fee again.

Also please be aware that if you are using loans to pay for college, then initiating a freeze will probably prevent those creditors from doing the credit check that ends with them paying your tuition. The credit freeze is a powerful thing, so be very careful and be very aware of what you would be starting! Think about it first and do some additional research as well as some conversations with your parents.

/r/personalfinance Thread Parent