Credit freezes are one of the most effective tools against economic ID theft available to consumers.
They allow you to lock up your records and select a secret code that only you know and can use to temporarily "thaw" your credit. That added layer of security means that thieves can't do anything with your information even if they are able to obtain it.
Freezes have always been available for free to victims of ID theft. But recently all three of the major credit bureaus adopted new rules allowing more non-victims to have access to them than ever.
This is a big step forward. Before the new rules, only residents in the 39 states (plus Washington D.C.) listed in the columns below were allowed by statute to request a credit freeze. Now everyone else in the other 11 states -- Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Michigan, Missouri, Ohio, South Carolina, and Virginia -- will be allowed to take this preemptive measure against ID theft. If you live in one of the 11 states, here's what you need to know:
• The cost is $10 per bureau. The total to freeze all three credit reports would be $30. (For Georgia residents, the cost will be $3 per bureau as of Aug. 1, 2008. It will be free for senior citizens and victims of ID theft.)
• It will also cost you $10 per bureau each time you want to unfreeze or "thaw" your records to apply for new credit.
Please note that non-victims of ID theft who live in one of the following 39 states are still required to pay for a credit freeze. The exact price is determined by state law:
Arkansas
California
Colorado
Connecticut
Delaware
District of Columbia
Florida
Hawaii
Illinois
Indiana
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiana
Maine
Maryland
Massachusetts
Mississippi
Minnesota
Montana
Nebraska
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Nevada
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New Mexico
New York
North Dakota
North Carolina
Oklahoma
Oregon
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
South Dakota
Tennessee
Texas
Utah
Vermont
Washington
West Virginia
Wisconsin
Wyoming
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Source: ConsumersUnion.org |
