It is now free in every U.S. state to freeze and unfreeze your credit file and that of your dependents. Credit bureaus profit from selling copies of your file to others, so freezing your file also lets you deny these dinosaurs a valuable revenue stream. With a freeze in place, ID thieves can apply for credit in your name all they want, but few if any creditors will extend that credit without first being able to gauge how risky it is to loan to you. The Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief and Consumer Protection Act rolls back some of the restrictions placed on banks in the wake of the Great Recession.”]
Source: https://krebsonsecurity.com/2018/09/credit-freezes-are-free-let-the-ice-age-begin/