The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has announced that Americans nationwide can now freeze their credit reports for free.  This was made possible because of a new federal law made effective on September 21st 2018.

More information about credit freezes is at www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0497-credit-freeze-faqs.  The FTC also requires that credit reporting agencies give consumers a free credit report once a year at www.annualcreditreport.com

You may also set up a security freeze at ChexSystems to prevent the opening of unauthorized bank accounts.  The National Consumer Telecom and Utilities Exchange (NCTUE) will allow you to set up a security freeze as well.  Innovis is another credit agency that also allows freezes.