Equifax has just launched a new service to help fight identity theft. It's called “Lock & Alert” and it enables those who sign up to limit or allow access to their Equifax credit file with a click of the mouse or a swipe on the smartphone.
Lock & Alert is available to anyone 18 or older with an Equifax credit report. The company promises the service will be free for life. For most people in Washington, there's a $10 fee to freeze their Equifax file or to unfreeze it, if they want to apply for credit. Lock and Alert is free.
Also, those who sign up will not be bound by the company’s mandatory arbitration clause for other Equifax products.
A lock is similar, but not the same as a credit freeze. A freeze is your right under law. A credit lock is subject to the conditional terms set by the credit bureau and those terms can be changed at any time.