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It was also a great prelude to the House subcommittee's June 24 hearing on identity theft, when the panel finally heard two victims describe the emotional distress and frustration they experienced spending hour upon hour trying to repair their reputations and clean up their credit reports. "It seems rather incomprehensible that our previously impeccable credit reports, which clearly showed wise and careful use of credit along with a stable twenty year residence history, state address changes, all of which had been entered on our credit reports between September and November of 1999, " testified Maureen V. Mitchell, of Madison, Ohio.³⁷⁸

Credit Union (AXcess News) Washington - The House Financial Services Committee voted today to repeal strict state notification and credit freeze laws that have helped to protect consumers from identity theft and financial fraud. These laws provide essential protections that allow consumers to prevent identity thieves from opening credit accounts in their names and require companies to inform consumers when their personal data -- such as their Social Security and credit card numbers -- have become compromised.

But Rep. Bernie Sanders ( VT), the Ranking Independent on the subcommittee, said that extensive inaccuracy in credit reports, coupled with growing identity theft, underscored the urgent need for stronger consumer protections. Sanders repeatedly said the place to start was "one free credit report per year." Vermont was one of the first states to have a law requiring one free credit report per year. Throughout the House's spring and summer hearings, Sanders continued to harangue committee members about the need for a federal right to a free credit report.

Merchant Credit Guide Co "It is ironic that after a year in which over 55 million Americans' identities were put at risk through preventable data breaches, the House Financial Services Committee would repeal state laws that have protected consumers from identity theft," said Susanna Montezemolo, policy analyst with Consumers Union, nonprofit publisher of Consumer Reports magazine.

Theft of service members' identities came in many forms. Enlisted men on a U.S. Navy vessel in the Indian Ocean had their identities stolen by shipmates, who transferred their data to a ring back in the States that committed the fraud. Another ring apparently planted a member inside a credit union at a military base in the United States. This was very strategic positioning, as the ring would know who was stationed overseas and therefore unlikely to discover the identity theft until long after fraudulent credit purchases were made.

Apply Online For Credit Card Montezemolo added, "This bill is like buying a fire detector after your house has burned down-it is too little, too late. We shouldn't have to wait until an identity thief has already bought a Lexus in your name in order to have the right protect yourself. "

By Credit Health We've all heard of identity theft, but what does this term really mean Going far beyond credit card fraud, identity theft is a rapidly growing crime that most people will face at some point in their lives. Credit Health explains the different kinds of identity theft crimes common today and pinpoints new identity theft trends that are emerging.

By Card Credit Debt Debt Guide Ed Mierzwinski, Consumer Program Director for the U.S. Public Interest Research Group, said: "Today, the Financial Services Committee voted for the worst data security bill ever. Rather than voting to protect consumers, the Committee made things worse. All consumers should have the right to sleep at night without worrying about identity theft -- this bill takes us in the exact wrong direction."

Much like a credit report, an identity theft report contains your personal and financial history. Companies like Privacy Matters offer an identity theft report as part of their core benefits, designed to protect your personal information and your peace of mind. Staying proactive is a key to preventing identity theft, and an identity theft report, along with identity theft and credit monitoring, offers you several different weapons to stay in the fight.

Credit Repair There are nearly 10 million identity theft victims each year, according the Federal Trade Commission, or an estimated 19 identity theft victims a minute. The crime has cost businesses, financial institutions and consumers billions of dollars in recent years.

Active Credit Credit Guide The Federal Trade Commission recently negotiated the largest civil penalty ever -- $10 million -- for data broker ChoicePoint's admission that it sold 163,000 personal financial records to identity thieves.

Credit Score Consumers and the media only learned of the ChoicePoint incident after Californians were notified, based on that state's strict notification requirements.

Bad Car Credit Guide Loan Since then, consumers have come to expect that when their personal data is at risk, they will be notified. Eleven states have stricter notification standards than the federal bill, including the California law that resulted in ChoicePoint public awareness. Eight states have freeze laws stronger than those in the bill: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Louisiana, Maine, Nevada, New Jersey, and North Carolina. All of these laws would be eliminated under the measure.

Bad Credit Loan Mierzwinski said, "This is just the first step in the legislative process, and other committees have jurisdiction over this issue. Ideally, this bill will not become law and states will continue to innovate in the area of identity theft and privacy protections."

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