Credit Freeze

Beginning July 1 twenty nine states and the District of Columbia will give consumers a new tool to combat identity theft; residents will be allowed to put a "freeze" or block on access to their credit reports. Without access to credit reports and credit scores businesses will not make credit available, thus locking out potential identity thieves. If you put a freeze on your account and need to apply for credit you can input a PIN number to allow access for legitimate inquiries.

You can find a list of the states that are working to protect your identity here. For the rest of us we need to be asking our legislators when we can have access to this useful tool too.

photo courtesy of Belin at mourgefile.com