Put Your Credit On “ICE”
In order to help citizens protect themselves from identity theft, California and Texas have passed legislation that allows individuals to freeze their credit history with each of the three credit bureaus. There are mixed reviews from various camps on whether or not this will actually benefit consumers, however, many other states are proposing similar legislation.
Fraud experts and consumer advocacy groups are praising the legislation as being a much needed first step towards arresting the ever-increasing incidents of identity theft in this country. Realtors and lenders are claiming that this type legislation will ultimately be detrimental to consumers by making credit more difficult to get.
The problem of identity theft in this country is not only major issue, it’s one that won’t go away. The same technology that allows individuals to get credit almost instantaneously is the technology that supports opportunity for identity theft to occur.
A bipartisan group of Senators has recently introduced a proposal for new legislation which is designed to protect Americans from identity theft. At first glance, it appears to be similar to the legislation passed by California and Texas. However, it does require that businesses collecting and sharing individuals personal data begin bearing more of the burden of preventing identity theft or face fines and penalties.
A review of the proposed legislation and further updates on this topic will follow in later posts.