BreachExchange mailing list archives
Re: A data security breach legislation question
From: Beth Givens <bgivens () privacyrights org>
Date: Wed, 12 Mar 2008 16:21:08 -0700
Security freezes are even more effective than fraud alerts in preventing identity theft in situations where the breached data ends up in the hands of fraudsters. If your credit reports are "frozen," creditors cannot obtain access to them at all. The fraudster who is attempting to open an instant credit account at, say, the local Circuit City store so he or she can buy goods with a high street value on the black market will be turned away. The sales clerk at Circuit City will not be able to access the victim's credit report to make that all-important credit check. But there is a fee to sign up for security freezes with each of the 3 credit bureaus. If an individual wants the ultimate protection, AND they do not plan to be in the market for any credit-related products in the near future including renting an apartment, it makes sense to go with the freeze. FYI, freezes are usually free to bona fide ID theft victims. Freezes are a good idea for senior citizens who own their homes outright and who have all the credit they need. They then have the peace of mind that they don't need to worry about new-account fraud, which is the more pernicious form of identity fraud (versus existing-account fraud) and the most difficult and time-consuming to recover from. By the way, the freeze laws were implemented because creditors were not always checking for fraud alerts. Many simply ignored them and did not make those phone calls to individuals who had established the fraud alerts. We here at the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse have talked with numerous victims of identity theft over the years who have told us that creditors paid no attention to their fraud alerts and went ahead and issued credit to the identity thief nonetheless. I would like to see security freeze laws amended to require *free* freezes for individuals affected by data breaches, especially for breaches in which Social Security numbers have been compromised. SSNs are the key to new-account fraud. Here's a good link for freeze information from Consumers Union: http://www.consumersunion.org/campaigns/learn_more/003484indiv.html Beth Givens Director, Privacy Rights Clearinghouse The information, advice, and suggestions contained in this email should be used as an information source and not as legal advice. Beth Givens, Director Privacy Rights Clearinghouse 3100 - 5th Ave., Suite B San Diego, CA 92103 Voice: 619-298-3396 Fax: 619-298-5681 bgivens () privacyrights org http://www.privacyrights.org +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Join our email newsletter. http://www.privacyrights.org/subscribe.htm _______________________________________________ Dataloss Mailing List (dataloss () attrition org) http://attrition.org/dataloss Tenable Network Security offers data leakage and compliance monitoring solutions for large and small networks. Scan your network and monitor your traffic to find the data needing protection before it leaks out! http://www.tenablesecurity.com/products/compliance.shtml
Current thread:
- Re: A data security breach legislation question, (continued)
- Re: A data security breach legislation question Privacy Laws (Mar 10)
- Re: A data security breach legislation question Rebecca Herold (Mar 10)
- Re: A data security breach legislation question Susan Orr (Mar 10)
- Re: A data security breach legislation question Rob Shavell (Mar 12)
- Re: A data security breach legislation question Miller, Terry (Mar 12)
- SEC Regulation S-P: Privacy of Consumer Financial Information and Safeguarding Personal Information Mark Simon (Mar 12)
- Re: SEC Regulation S-P: Privacy of Consumer Financial Information and Safeguarding Personal Information Miller, Terry (Mar 12)
- Re: A data security breach legislation question Rebecca Herold (Mar 12)
- Re: A data security breach legislation question Craig Muller (Mar 12)
- Re: A data security breach legislation question Michael Hill, CITRMS (Mar 12)
- Re: A data security breach legislation question Beth Givens (Mar 12)
- Re: A data security breach legislation question Peyton, Janet P. (Mar 12)
- Re: A data security breach legislation question Chris Walsh (Mar 12)