Privacy Advocates Call for Tough Regulation of Financial Data and Stronger Identity Theft Protections

ChoicePoint, Bank of America Scandals Underscore Weakness of Current Laws

 

The recent security breaches of sensitive customer information held by ChoicePoint and Bank of America have underscored how vulnerable consumers are to threats of identity theft and the need for stronger protections to reduce such fraud. Watchdog groups are calling for new laws that provide proper oversight of businesses that collect and sell sensitive consumer information and tougher safeguards to give consumers the tools they need to stop identity theft before it starts.

PRC and WPF Ask the FTC to Immediately Stop Credit Bureaus From Blocking Links to www.AnnualCreditReport.com

UPDATE: As of noon, February 28, the credit bureaus began to allow linking to the annualcreditreport.com site from other sites. To see what the previous non-linking "blacklisted" message looked like prior to the credit bureaus' change in policy, see  Figure 2 in the Call Don't Click report.

 

 

 

Stop Blocking Links to Free Credit Report Site: Letter to the Federal Trade Commission

Joel Winston
Associate Director
Financial Practices Division
Bureau of Consumer Protection
Federal Trade Commission
600 Pennsylvania Ave., NW
Washington, DC 20580

 

Re: Demonstrated Consumer Risk due to Online Link Blocking by www.AnnualCreditReport.com. Fifty “Live Imposter” Domains Luring Consumers Away from the Official Free Credit Report Site.

 

Dear Mr. Winston:

 

Consumers in Midwest States Can Get Free Credit Reports Starting March 1, 2005

A new federal law, known as the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act, or FACTA, adopted by Congress in 2003 gives consumers nationwide the right to receive a free copy of their credit report. The law is being phased in through the U.S. and Midwest states are next on the rollout list. The ability for consumers to get a free copy of their credit report annually started on the West Coast on December 1, 2004, and individuals living in the Midwest can start receiving their reports on March 1, 2005.

Request Disclosure of Information Sharing Under California's Shine the Light Act

On January 1, 2005, California's Shine the Light Act came into effect. For more information about the Act, see the PRC's press release at www.privacyrights.org/ar/SB27Release.htm. In essence, certain businesses must provide California residents with a way to find out what personal information has been shared and with whom within the twelve months prior to receiving your request for disclosure.

 

Marcy's Story: Unable to Make a Return Due to The Retail Equation

Marcy attempted to return a shirt at an Express retail store and was given a slip of paper saying the return was denied due to an organization called The Retail Equation. She have never heard of The Retail Equation and was disturbed to find that merchants are maintaining a database of information about consumers’ returns. While she understood the need to combat fraud, she felt this type of database invasive, retaliatory and consumer-unfriendly.

 

Marcy's name has been changed to protect her privacy.

Fair and Reasonable Fee for Credit Score Disclosure: Comments to the Federal Trade Commission

Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking
Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003
Docket Id: RIN 3084-AA94

 

Submitted by:

Privacy Rights Clearinghouse Consumers Union Consumer Action Calegislation World Privacy Forum Identity Theft Resource Center PrivacyActivism Consumer Federation of California

 

January 5, 2005

 

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