Over the past few weeks, Clark has been talking about the fact that now all three credit bureaus are allowing people in all 50 states to freeze their credit. TransUnion was the first to announce the policy, followed by Equifax and Experian. The Wall Street Journal now reports that credit freezes are accelerating in popularity. This is impressive considering the bureaus aren't making it very easy to find out about credit freezes. Here at ClarkHoward.com we've compiled Clark's credit freeze guide to help you navigate the process. The bureaus would rather make money by selling you alerts (after the fact of an ID theft); the freeze, meanwhile, is a preventative measure. Unless you are a documented victim of ID theft, you'll have to pay to freeze your credit. Just beware that when you want to apply for new credit, you'll have to pay again for a temporary thaw. There is some concern that credit freezes will prevent people from impulsively applying for new credit. But Clark thinks that's a good thing!