You’d think that as a consumer you’d have the right to decide who has access to your personal credit reports, not only to reduce the endless barrage of unsolicited financial offers you may receive in the mail but more importantly to protect you against identity theft before it happens.

Yet despite widespread agreement that the option of a credit freeze is a great tool for consumers, thanks in part to the efforts of highly paid lobbyists only around 20 states have real credit freeze laws in place – some states have a restricted version of a freeze which only allows consumers to place a freeze after they become a victim of identity theft.

A freeze is different to a fraud alert. As a consumer you can place a fraud alert after you detect what is or appears to be an identity theft or a new credit account in your name.

A freeze is a pre-emptive measure to prevent even legitimate financial companies from accessing your credit report without your permission. There’s usually a small fee, typically around $10, to place the freeze and another fee to lift it.

Make your voice heard this year by urging your local representatives to push for more and better legislation. You can find out what kind of credit freeze laws your state has in place at the non-profit Consumers Union at www.consumersunion.org - click on the link Campaigns and Financial Privacy.

You can also use that web site to send a letter to your Congressional Representative and Senators urging them to take greater action.