These free services include:

• A security freeze. Putting a security freeze on your credit report will generally prevent new credit from being opened in your name. Under a new federal law effective September 21, 2018, you can freeze and unfreeze your credit record for free at the three nationwide credit reporting companies – Equifax , Experian, and TransUnion  – no matter what state you live in.
• A fraud alert. If you believe that you’ve been the victim of identity theft or fraud (or are about to), you can place a fraud alert on your credit report. A fraud alert doesn’t prevent a lender from opening credit in your name, but it does require a lender to take certain measures to verify your identity first. An initial fraud alert lasts up to 1 year unless you decided to remove it sooner.

Tip: You can request a free credit report from a nationwide credit reporting company once every 12 months. By requesting the reports separately, you can monitor your credit files at no cost more frequently throughout the year.

You can also submit a complaint to the CFPB online.