New law lets you freeze your credit at no cost

Many experts say freezing your credit is the strongest way to protect against identity theft. Starting Friday, you'll be able to do it free of charge.

Following last year's massive Equifax data breach that exposed personal information of about 148 million Americans, Congress amended the Fair Credit Reporting Act to require reporting agencies to freeze reports for no charge.

Equifax, TransUnion, and Experian are the three major credit reporting agencies in the United States. You must contact each of the three separately to freeze and unfreeze your reports.

A credit freeze limits anyone's access to your credit file, including new lenders. This means if a new lender can't see your credit report, they won't issue a new account in your name.

Credit card companies and banks where you have existing accounts will still be able to see your credit report, but you will have to lift the freeze in order to open a new line of credit.

Before this law, consumers had to pay to freeze or unfreeze your credit, costing anywhere from $2 to $30.

Cox Media Group