Submitted: May 24, 2005 to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation for FACTA, Fair Credit Reporting Proposed Rulemaking by the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse.

Robert E. Feldman, Executive Secretary
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
550 17 th Street, NW
Washington, D.C. 20429
Submitted by E-Mail: Comments@FDIC.gov

RE: Fair Credit Reporting Medical Information Regulations -- RIN 3064-AC81

Dear Mr. Feldman:

Shelia had been away from the United States for the past 4 years and wanted to sell her house in California. She contacted several real estate agents to discuss listing the house and was informed by them that her house has been rented. Someone had been collecting the rent on her house, faked her signature and had received loans on her property. This same person had also been made a power of attorney, bought a business and accumulated a huge amount of financial burden all in her name.

Disasters bring out the best in people and the worst. These two dynamics intersect when scam-artists create fake charities with fundraising appeals, thereby bilking people out of donations that they meant to give to the victims.

Charity fraud. In the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, there will no doubt be the usual fraudsters attempting to cash in on people's heartfelt generosity. Here's how you can avoid becoming a victim of such charlatans.

The PRC advises parents to pay close attention to documents and forms that students bring home from school. Among them is likely to be an opt-out form regarding the disclosure of students' education records.

Starting August 1, 2005, unsolicited offers for credit or insurance that are based on information in your credit report should be easier to spot.

Update On October 2, 2006, Qchex agreed to a temporary restraining order to halt "unfair business practices," according to the Federal Trade Commission. The FTC has asked the U.S. District Court to order a permanent halt to the illegal operation and to order Qchex to "give up their ill-gotten gains.". Read more at www.ftc.gov/opa/2006/10/qchex.htm.

The Privacy Rights Clearinghouse and PrivacyActivism submitted comments to the US Attorney General expressing concern about commercial data vendors and private employers' use of federal criminal records files for employment purposes. The comments were submitted at the request of the US Attorney General who is seeking recommendations for a report being prepared for Congress. The report to Congress is required by a 2004 law for Intelligence Reform.

You have no doubt heard by now that on Friday June 16th MasterCard reported that a Tucson-based credit card transaction company, CardSystems, experienced a serious security breach in which the account data of 40 million cards had been compromised. Nearly 14 million of those cards were MasterCard-branded cards and 22 million were VISA cards. Other card brands were also affected.

Apparently the breach was discovered May 22nd. It appears that a hacker was able to insert a virus into the computer system that captured customer data.

Starting June 1, 2005, any business, large or small, that uses consumer reports must dispose of this sensitive information “properly.” The rule also applies to individuals who use consumer reports for a business purpose.

Are the Businesses You Frequent or Work for Exposing
You to an Identity Thief?

Assign 1 point for each NO answer.