In a world of scammers and financial fraud it is a good idea to know what steps you should take to protect your account when needed.

A credit freeze, or security freeze, prevents anyone else from opening a credit account in your name. This can prevent a long list of headaches if your data has been compromised.

Betsy Badell and Rob Michaelson take a look at when you should do a credit freeze, how to make it happen and how to pause it when needed.