From the Honolulu Advertiser:

Starting Thursday, consumers in all 50 states will be able to freeze access to their credit files at all three major credit bureaus to prevent identity thieves from opening fraudulent accounts in their names. By that date, all three major credit bureaus will offer “security freeze” protection to all consumers living in the eleven states that have not passed laws requiring it and the five states that currently limit this protection to identity theft victims.

To help consumers learn how to take advantage of this powerful identity theft safeguard, Consumers Union, the nonprofit publisher of Consumer Reports, is making available online an updated “Guide to Security Freeze Protection” at http://www.financialprivacynow.org/

“Consumers across the country now have the power to put the freeze on one of the worst forms of identity theft,” said Jeannine Kenney, Senior Policy Analyst with Consumers Union. “The security freeze stops identity thieves cold by preventing them from using stolen information to open fraudulent accounts.”

Thirty-nine states and the District of Columbia have enacted laws requiring the credit bureaus to allow consumers to protect their credit files with a security freeze. The eleven states that have not adopted security freeze laws are Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Michigan, Missouri, Ohio, South Carolina, and Virginia.

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Tags: ID Theft, Privacy, ID Theft Protection, Consumer Credit