Credit freezes can help prevent theft of identity. Are they worth your time?

Protecting yourself from identity theft has become easier, or at least cheaper.

A new law comes into effect on Friday that allows Americans concerned about identity theft to restrict access to their credit. The service is free.

A credit freeze restricts access to your credit report, making it more difficult to open new accounts on your behalf. The freeze must be lifted before any new credit to buy a car or a house, for example.

Previously, the costs associated with freezing credit varied widely from one state to the other. Credit freezes were free in some states but cost more than $ 30 in others. In some places, it cost $ 30 more to lift the freeze.

The new law was inspired by the Equifax hacking in 2017, which revealed the credit information of 148 million Americans. And despite efforts to raise awareness of the risks posed by this attack, a Creditcards.com survey released early this year found that half of US adults had not looked at their credit score since the data breach.

So, should you freeze your credit now that it's free? We asked this and other questions to Ted Rossman, an analyst at Creditcards.com.

I did not have my identity stolen, should I still block my credit?

Everyone should at least consider freezing their credit.

Even if you were not part of the 45% of Americans involved in the Equifax breach, if you have already shopped at Target, Home Depot, eBay, Chipotle or a host of other companies whose data has been compromised, your information could still be compromised

"Whether or not we have seen suspicious activity on our account, there have been enough attacks, that we should just assume that our information is available," Rossman said.

In addition, the essential point of a credit freeze is to prevent suspicious activity from occurring.

How do we do it?

You must freeze your credit with the three credit reporting companies, Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. You can do it online, by phone or by mail.

Here are the websites and phone numbers:

Rossman also recommends asking businesses to freeze your children's credit. Even if your children do not have any credit card on their behalf, their identity can still be stolen.

What are the disadvantages of freezing your credit?

The main disadvantage is that if you freeze your credit, you must remember to unlock it.

Under the new law, credit reporting companies are supposed to be able to unfreeze your credit in the following hour.

But "I think people would be well served by leaving a little more time than that. If you go shopping, I would do it two or three days in advance, "said Rossman.

In this way, if you are put on a customer service or if companies are facing website problems, you still have some leeway.

Another thing to note: when you freeze your credit, you will receive a personal identification number. Do not lose it.

Mr. Rossman said that credit companies have the means to verify your identity without the number, which allows you to unlock your credit, but it can be very complicated.

Can I trust credit companies to handle this?

Frankly, you do not have a lot of choice, Rossman said.

Credit bureaus already have your personal information, so you can not do much. By freezing your credit, you do not provide them with additional data.

When the new law was reviewed early in the year, some people advocated a review of the credit industry, but that did not happen.

So, if you do not trust credit companies, freezing your credit could be the best solution. Remember, as Rossman has said, to give you enough time to thaw it in case of a problem.

Are there fewer extreme options?

You can instead opt for fraud alerts, which are also free.

In this case, you only need to contact one of the three credit reporting companies and they will inform the other two that you want them to be on alert for any suspicious activity.

Instead of completely freezing your credit, just signal to creditors that they must exercise extra diligence to verify your identity before issuing credit.

Under the new law, these alerts will expire automatically after one year, compared to 90 days earlier. If you have been a victim of fraud, the alert can stay in place for up to seven years.

There are still some steps to take to prevent their information from being stolen.

"Be diligent. Check your credit score regularly. Report any suspicious transactions on your credit cards, "said Rossman.

If something seems to be off at a gas station or ATM where you insert your credit card, this can be a sign of forgery or the presence of a skimmer to steal information from your card.

Still have questions? Check out these additional FAQs from the Federal Trade Commission.