• A credit freeze allows a person to restrict their credit report viewing.bank statment and cut credit card image by Warren Millar from Fotolia.com
  
  You might place a credit freeze, or security freeze, on your account by means of protecting your credit report in case you believe you are a victim of identity theft. Depending upon the laws in your state, only people who have actually experienced identity theft can place a freeze on their credit. Other states permit anyone to do this. Although Alabama, Michigan and Missouri do not offer this option, the credit reporting agencies have given all consumers the right to place a freeze on their credit.
  
  

Credit report

• When a credit freeze becomes placed on your credit report, potential creditors and third parties are restricted from viewing your credit history unless you authorize a temporary lift of the freeze. A credit freeze will have no effect on your credit score and the law allows you to still receive your annual credit reports through the three credit reporting agencies, Equifax, Trans Union and Experian.
  
  

Fees

• Washington has passed new laws concerning the freeze on credit. Victims of identity theft can obtain a block on their report for free. For all other consumers, they will have to pay a $10 charge to each of the three credit reporting companies, or $30 total. With the freeze in place, you will not be able to obtain new lines of credit or a bank loan. To lift the freeze, you will have to contact each of the credit reporting companies and pay a required fee. The new law in place prevents the companies from charging more than $12 to do this. You would have to use the PIN number provided by the companies to temporarily lift the freeze. The credit agencies then have three days to lift the freeze, depending upon which state you live in, while others have 15 minutes.
  
  

Restrictions

• Although a credit freeze will prevent a thief from opening most new lines of credit, it will not prevent the unauthorized use of existing credit cards. The freeze will also not stop any current use of credit theft already going on or prevent new accounts, such a telephone and bank accounts, from being opened that do not require the use of a credit card.