By CAROLYN MALONEY
SPECIAL TO THE VINDICATOR
Imagine for a minute a world in which you go to a locksmith to have locks put on your doors at home. To your surprise, the locksmith tells you that federal law doesn’t allow you to get locks until after a burglar has actually broken into your home and stolen your belongings. Chances are you would be bewildered – and more than a little bit upset.
Unfortunately, this type of counterintuitive thinking isn’t confined to a bizarre alternative universe — it could become a reality. A data security bill on its way to the floor of the House of Representatives for a vote, as currently constituted, contains language that would allow consumers to control access to their credit reports only after they discover an identity thief has established a false account in their name.
In this age of electronic banking and Internet transactions, it is easier than ever to have your personal data stolen. Twenty six million of our nation’s veterans recently were made vulnerable to the dangers of identity theft when a single government laptop went missing for almost two months, and each week we read of a new loss of personal data that threatens thousands more Americans. By now, many victims have found out the hard way that once a criminal sets up false accounts in your name, it is very difficult to clear your credit, and you may be unable to buy a car, or a house, or get a credit card, for years.
Giving consumers the ability to "freeze" their credit reports equips them with an invaluable tool to keep identity prowlers away from their information – like putting locks on your doors. Twenty states, including my home state of New York, already have laws that give their residents full control over access to their credit reports. It has been reported that the Ohio legislature is considering enacting a file freeze law, and other states are moving in that direction. But with H.R. 3997, a bill due on the House floor shortly, Congress might roll back those state laws and prevent states like Ohio from enacting the same protections.
More
Tags: identity protection tools, identity theft, Social Security number, PayPal, eBay
Powered by Qumana