Here's something that should go into the category of "It's about time."
Congress has passed legislation that would give consumers some new protections against a growing and costly problem -- identity theft.
_____Primer_____
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Avoiding Identity Theft: washingtonpost.com reporter David McGuire surveyed experts for the best advice and resources for avoiding identity theft and what to do if you are a victim.
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The Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003, which President Bush is expected to sign, would, among other things, create a national fraud-alert system so consumers would have to make just one telephone call to report fraudulent activity.
The law, which updates the Fair Credit Reporting Act, would also grant consumers one free credit report per year from each of the major credit bureaus -- TransUnion, Equifax and Experian. For most consumers, that alone will be a savings of about $27 -- credit reports generally cost about $9 each. (Seven states -- Colorado, Georgia, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey and Vermont -- already mandate that credit reports be provided free.)
But perhaps the most noteworthy addition to the law is a requirement that consumers be notified if a business is going to report negative information about them to the credit bureaus. This could give early warning to victims of identity theft.
"This is the most significant consumer protection and financial literacy legislation passed by Congress in decades," Michael G. Oxley (R-Ohio), chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, said in a news release. "With a free credit report and powerful new tools to fight fraud, consumers have the ability make identity theft a crime of the past."
Without a doubt, criminals have had a field day pilfering identities and using the information to steal. In the process, they have also ruined the good credit of many a consumer.
In fact, the Federal Trade Commission recently released a survey showing that 27.3 million people have been victims of identity theft in the past five years, including 9.9 million this year alone.
In 2002, identity-theft losses to businesses and financial institutions totaled nearly $48 billion, and consumer victims reported $5 billion in out-of-pocket expenses, according to the survey. Individual victims lost an average of $1,180.
Here are some of the other major provisions of the legislation as outlined by the House Financial Services Committee:
