It sounds like this would alert you to potential fraud, but not prevent it from happening. You'd still have the headache of undoing the damage, although that may be easier if you find out sooner.
If you freeze your credit, it basically prevents anyone from opening any new credit under your name. The reason for this is that any lender (car, mortgage, credit card, etc...) first would want to see your credit history, to determine how credit worthy you are. If they can't do that, they will not lend.
I'm waiting for the headline one day soon that hackers were able to unfreeze people's profiles and commit fraud under these accounts anyway. It's just another database entry somewhere, which says "freeze". All these systems are vulnerable and can be penetrated.
If you freeze your credit, it basically prevents anyone from opening any new credit under your name. The reason for this is that any lender (car, mortgage, credit card, etc...) first would want to see your credit history, to determine how credit worthy you are. If they can't do that, they will not lend.
I'm waiting for the headline one day soon that hackers were able to unfreeze people's profiles and commit fraud under these accounts anyway. It's just another database entry somewhere, which says "freeze". All these systems are vulnerable and can be penetrated.