Georgians can now give themselves a little extra protection against identity theft by freezing their credit records under a state law that takes effect Friday.

But how many folks will actually use it?

"That's the million-dollar question," said Will Phillips, who lobbied for years to get the law passed. "We're going to make every effort to make sure people use it," said Phillips, who is associate state director of the AARP Georgia.

With the new law, more than 40 states have enacted statutes that allow customers to block businesses and others from looking at their credit record without permission. The state-mandated services are aimed at serving as a deterrent to would-be identity thieves who hope to use the information to obtain fraudulent credit cards, mortgages and other types of loans.

According to the Federal Trade Commission's Identity Theft Clearing House, about 15 percent of identity thefts involve new account fraud. The bulk of such thefts result from old-fashioned methods such as using lost wallets and credit cards or stolen checkbooks.

The Georgia law caps fees for freezing or unfreezing credit records at $3, lower than most states, and requires the service to be free for people over age 65. The law also requires credit bureaus to lift the freeze within 15 minutes when a customer makes a request to buy big-ticket items like cars and TVs using credit.

But Phillips said there are still obstacles that could limit how many people take advantage of the service. Besides the expense, people have to send a separate request and pay the fee to each of the three major credit bureaus: Experian, TransUnion and Atlanta-based Equifax.

"In a perfect world, there would be only one number to call to take care of all three," said Phillips. Still, "we feel like we've got a good product here," he said.

He said the AARP plans to do what it can to make people aware of the new credit freeze service and how to use it. He said 26 volunteers from AARP Georgia will fan out across the state with thousands of request kits to meet with local AARP chapters, Kiwanis and other groups.