No, I haven't had any fraudulent activity, thankfully. Out of curiosity, I looked in my file where I keep the incident report, and this happened in Dec. 2010. I actively started applying for cards sometime in 2011. When I apply for a new card (17 since 2011), in my "application excitement", I have often forgotten to unlock my report. So, I'm used to not getting instant approval, but I have not been denied on any application. My credit before and since has always been excellent (over 800), even after cancelling my oldest card from 1991 in the summer of 2012. My biggest problem now is reduction in income (retirement).

I didn't want to put an actual freeze on my credit reports because I understood the freeze/unfreeze process to be more cumbersome.

I've considered dropping the Equifax service due to price. I have been involved in several other potential identity theft situations that have offered free for 1 year services, and I have enrolled in them. But when I filed the fraud alerts in the first place, I was told that the thieves could have tossed the information after buying the phones, or they could have sold it, or saved it, and sometimes it could resurface months or years later. That is an unsettling thought. I often wish it had just been a credit card that was compromised. rather than my Social Security number.

Good luck, and may you not encounter any future negative incidents.