Per a new law, you can now put a freeze on your credit report for free. Gone is the $10 (or more) fee to freeze your credit and another equal fee to unfreeze it later. Multiplying by three for the big-three reporting companies, the cost kept too many people from taking steps to protect their credit.

All three companies — Equifax, Experian and TransUnion — now are required by law to give consumers this option after the huge credit debacle last year, when over 148 million people had their information stolen. Unfortunately, you still need to contact all three agencies. Freezing one does not automatically freeze the other two.

Why is it important to freeze your credit? With locked reports, no one can sign up for new accounts in your name. Mortgages, utilities, loans — they’re all at risk.

There are several ways to freeze your credit. If you call or submit your request online, the companies have to freeze your credit in one day. Later, if you need to unlock your reports (if you want to apply for something), they have to do that within one hour. You also can freeze it by mail.

Call Experian at 1-888-397-3742, Equifax at 1-800-685-1111 and TransUnion at 1-888-909-8872. Note: You’ll need a personal identification number to use if you ever want to unfreeze your credit. Write it down and put it somewhere safe. Another way to protect your credit is with a lock. You can use a cellphone and an app to do this, but it’s not as secure.

If you’ve been a victim of identity theft, go online to www.identitytheft.gov or see www.consumer.ftc.gov for more information.

Remember that you’re entitled to one free credit report per year. Order yours from annualcreditreport.com.

© 2018 King Features Synd., Inc.