A credit freeze (also called a security freeze) and a credit lock both block lenders from pulling your credit report to open new accounts, but a freeze is a right guaranteed by federal law, while a lock is a product the credit bureaus sell, often for a fee and bundled with other paid services. According to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, credit locks are no more effective than security freezes, which are free to place and lift at Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion.
Because a freeze is regulated by law, each bureau must place it within one business day of an online or phone request and lift it within one hour, and freezes do not affect your credit scores. A lock’s terms, fees, and unlock speed are set by the bureau’s service agreement instead. Either one works only at the bureau where you set it, so you need to freeze or lock at all three bureaus for full coverage.
Image: Credit cards in a wallet, by Chris Potter, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.