NY Credit Freeze Law Takes Effect

The New York credit freeze law takes effect today. NY consumers may as of today choose to place a notice on their credit reports that would prohibit credit reporting agency from releasing the report, or even the credit score. This law was voted as a measure to fight identity theft. After one person's identity has been stolen, the thief typically tries to obtain credit using the victim's name. That law would prevent the thief to obtain credit.

However, since a victim of identity theft is not always immediately aware that she is a victim, thief may still have enough time between their crime and the discovery of the crime to gain credit using the victim's name.