Georgia ranks 7th in the nation for identity theft, according to the most recent date from the Federal Trade Commission’s Identity Theft Clearing House. According to the same report, 15 percent of identity thefts are new account fraud, with victims spending an average of $1,180 and 40 hours to correct their accounts. AARP Georgia and its 1.1 million members worked for three years to pass legislation that would give Georgians an effective tool - credit freezing - to fight new account fraud. House Bill 130, which gives Georgians credit freeze protections, was passed by the Georgia General Assembly during the last session and signed into law by the Governor. The legislation goes into effect on August 1st.
To use credit freeze protections, consumers need to contact each of the major credit bureaus and request the freeze.
Credit freezing prevents identity theft and credit fraud before it starts by allowing consumers to block access to the use of their credit. Key provisions of the Georgia legislation include:
- $3 freezing, lifting and removing fee cap for each credit bureau;
- Lifting of the freeze within 15 minutes, which will allow consumers to grant access to credit checks for purpose of buying a car, TV or other items where a credit check is required; and
- People 65 and older will have access to freezing, lifting and removing a credit freeze at no cost.
To help educate Georgians how to use credit freeze protections, AARP Georgia has trained a group of volunteers who are available to make presentations on the topic to community organizations across the state.
To freeze your credit online with each of the three credit bureaus visit:
Experian: www.experian.com click on "Security Freeze" or call 1-888-397-3742
TransUnion: www.transunion click on "Security Freeze" under "Identity Theft" category on home page or call 1-888-909-8872
Equifax: www.equifax.com or 1-800-685-1111
