Put your credit on ice

Following on the heels of Washington and other states that have approved credit freeze laws, the nation’s three leading credit bureaus recently announced they will provide all Americans with the opportunity to freeze unwanted access to their credit history. But before you rush to sign up, there are some things you should know. Each bureau has different procedures to request a freeze and some older adults may want to wait until September 2008. That’s when a new state law takes effect that allows anyone age 65 or older to freeze access to their credit files for free. Unless you’re an identity theft victim, you’ll pay $10 to each of the bureaus to freeze your credit now; that’s $30 total. To help clear up the confusion, we've updated Web site with new information and a chart that compares new and old laws and explains application procedures.