One of the best ways to protect yourself from identity theft is now free.

Starting Friday, a new federal law allows people to freeze and unfreeze their credit at the three major credit bureaus without being charged. Before, it cost consumers in almost half the states $3 to $12 per bureau to freeze or unfreeze their credit reports.

A freeze prevents lenders from pulling a person’s credit report – a key part of the approval process for a credit card or loan – essentially preventing fraudsters from opening a new account in that person’s name or the name of someone in their family.

The new law comes more than a year after Equifax disclosed a major data breach that exposed the personal information of 148 million Americans and prompted lawmakers to rethink identity security.  FULL STORY HERE