You’ve lost your wallet or purse and are afraid that identity thieves will start credit accounts under your name. If you live in California and a few other states, you can place a security freeze on your credit file, which stops anyone from establishing new credit in your name.

If you’re in Washington, you cannot freeze your credit until you’ve been the victim of a crime. If you’re in Idaho, you cannot freeze your credit, period. During the just-completed legislative session, Washington state Attorney General Rob McKenna testified on behalf of a bill that sought to add a preventive measure to the state’s credit freeze law, but the bill failed.

So who could possibly oppose such a common-sense law that’s readily endorsed by law enforcement as a crime-prevention tool? The people who stand to lose money, of course. That would be credit card companies, retailers, car dealers, insurance companies, banks and credit unions. Of course, they don’t talk about the money they could potentially lose if people were put in charge of their own credit. They’re only trying to be helpful to the helpless.

Nessa Feddis, senior federal counsel for the American Bankers Association, put it this way to USA Today: “It sounds good, but people don’t realize how often they request their credit reports be pulled for a good deal.”

State Sen. Don Benton, R-Vancouver, who led the fight against the bill in Olympia, put it this way to the Seattle Times: It could take up to 12 days for consumers to free up their frozen credit reports, which could delay efforts to buy a car or get insurance.

That’s right. They think people are too dumb to be entrusted with their own credit security. Too dumb to weigh the costs and benefits of freezing credit.

Credit freezes have gained in popularity since insurance companies, credit agencies, credit card companies and other businesses began reporting breaches in their security. The Federal Trade Commission estimates that identity theft costs Americans $53 billion a year. Washington state is seventh in the nation in reported cases per capita.

The growing popularity has opponents alarmed, so they’re putting pressure on Congress to pass identity theft legislation that would supersede state laws.

The idea is to gut state statutes that allow for credit freezes before actual crimes have been committed. This is like requiring people to produce police reports before they can buy burglar alarms.

Credit freezes put people in charge of their own security. They are voluntary. And they can be “thawed” in a few days. If people miss out on a temporary sale or forgo an impulse purchase, it’s by choice.

Congress should either allow for credit freezes or let states set their own guidelines. Consumers need protection from thieves, not from themselves.